Hamas affirms the “natural right” of Middle Eastern countries to defend themselves “against Zionist aggression.”
The Palestinian group Hamas has expressed support for Iran after it fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for a deadly attack on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.
In a statement Saturday, Hamas, which rules the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, said it reaffirms “the natural right” of Middle Eastern countries and peoples to defend themselves “in the face of Zionist aggression.”
“The military operation carried out by Iran against the Zionist entity is a natural right and an appropriate response to the crime of attacking the consulate in Damascus,” it said.
The Iranian salvo fired late Saturday evening consisted of more than 300 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones, according to the Israeli military. About 99 percent of the projectiles were intercepted with the help of France, the United Kingdom and the United States, an Israeli spokesman said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired the drones and missiles as part of Operation True Promise as part of punishment for “the Zionist entity’s crime of attacking the Iranian consulate in Syria” on April 1.
The raid in Damascus killed 12 people, including two senior generals from the IRGC’s elite Quds Force.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attack on the consulate.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said it now considers the matter “closed” and warned Israel of a “significantly harsher” response if the “Israeli regime makes another mistake.”
The United States was also warned to stay out of the conflict.
Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s deputy chief of staff, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying Tehran had warned Washington that its bases would be attacked if it supported an Israeli response.
Iran sent the message through the Swiss embassy that if the US “participated in further aggressive Zionist actions through its bases or military assets throughout the region, and this has been proven to us, its bases, assets and personnel in the region “We would no longer have any security,” he said.
The escalation comes six months after the start of Israel’s latest war on Gaza, which began on October 7 following unprecedented Hamas attacks in southern Israel. At least 33,686 Palestinians were killed and 76,309 others injured in Gaza in the brutal Israeli attack.
The bloodshed has heightened tensions in the region, spreading to frontlines with Lebanon and Syria and triggering long-range fire on Israeli targets from areas as far away as Yemen and Iraq.
A number of Western countries condemned the Iranian attack. The United Kingdom said it was working to stabilize the situation and France criticized Tehran for risking “military escalation.” Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for restraint, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the very real threat of devastating escalation across the region.”
The UN Security Council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the attacks at Israel’s request.