Israel-Hamas Conflict: The deadly war between Israel and Hamas has entered its seventh day with both sides intensifying their attacks aiming to inflict severe damage to the other. More than 2,800 have died and thousands of others have been injured as the ongoing war puts the globe at a critical juncture. Countries are divided and sides have been made — some are backing Israel and many others have come out in support of the Palestinian terror group Hamas. Israel’s operation ‘Iron Swords’ has led to devastation in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations said over 3,80,000 have been displaced due to the violent clashes.
Israel’s foreign ministry has said that 84 countries have supported it in a joint statement. India has condemned the attack and said it supports Israel against all forms of terrorism. However, India maintained the two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict. Russia attempted a balanced approach to the issue for a few days, but later said that the Palestine state is what could ease the tensions.
On the other hand, China has found itself in a confusing spot on the prevailing situation. In its first statement, Beijing called on “relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation.” Later, after the US reacted sharply to China’s stance, it condemned “all violence and attacks on civilians”, but did not mention Hamas.
Here are details of countries supporting Israel and nationals backing Hamas.
Countries Supporting Israel
United States
US President Joe Biden has made it clear that Israel does not need to defend itself alone till America is there. Biden said that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US was ready to provide “all appropriate means of support” following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Saturday.
“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel,” Biden said in a statement.
The Pentagon also said that it was sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean to back Israe.
United Kingdom
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also backed Israel and told his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu that Britain was standing with Israel ‘unequivocally’ against ‘acts of terror’.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Sunak wrote, “The scenes we have seen in Israel over the last 36 hours are truly horrifying. I spoke to Prime Minister @netanyahu earlier today to assure him of the UK’s steadfast support as Israel defends itself against these attacks. Terrorism will not prevail.”
According to PTI, Sunak has directed UK military assets to be deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel, reinforce regional stability and prevent escalation.
The military package includes — P8 aircraft, surveillance assets, two Royal Navy ships – RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Argus – three merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines.
Australia
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of the violence and condemned its ‘indiscriminate’ targeting of civilians. He urged ‘restraint’ to protect the lives of civilians amid ongoing conflict in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.
France
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the violence by Hamas and affirmed his support for the country.
Taking to X, Macron expressed his solidarity with the people of Israel and wrote, “I strongly condemn the current terrorist attacks against Israel. I express my full solidarity with the victims, their families and loved ones.”
Apart from these, Germany, Austria, Canada, Poland, Spain and the European Union have also come out in support of Israel.
Countries Backing Palestinian Group Hamas
Iran
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reportedly spoke with leaders of Hamas and hailed the Palestinian group’s attack on Israel. Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a video address backed Hamas’ attack but denied the country’s role in it.
Qatar
Qatar is another voice on the list which has come out in support of Hamas militant group and reportedly extended financial assistance to Hamas. It said that Israel was solely responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people.
“Israel alone bears the responsibility for the current escalation due to its ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, the latest of which being the repeated raids on al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Lebanon
Lebanon’s terror group Hezbollah has joined Hamas in the fight against Israel. They reportedly even targeted Israel “in solidarity” with the Palestinian people. Israel has also reacted by striking areas across the Lebanon border.
Afghanistan
Led by the Taliban, the Afghanistan government has also backed the Hamas in war against Israel. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan affirms its support and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on its historical lands, which is a legitimate, historical and legal right of the Palestinian people to defend the independence of the country, and appeals to Islamic countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,” the statement of the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry said.
A recent statement by Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi, as per LiveMint, stated,”Cutting off water, food, medicine and electricity above the Gaza Strip by the brutal Israeli forces, killing 704 civilians, including 143 children and 105 women; Injuring more than 2,000 people and deliberately targeting civilian homes, mosques, hospitals, and ambulances are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has called for an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, and said it warned of the dangers of the explosion of a situation as a result of the continued occupation, deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights and the repetition of systematic provocations against its sanctities.
Iraq
The armed groups aligned with Iraq have threatened to target US interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervenes to support Israel in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the state paramilitary organisation that contains many Iran-backed factions said it “unequivocally supports” the Palestinian factions fighting Israel. As per the report, Iraqi government has said the Palestinian operations were a natural outcome of what it calls “oppressive” policies by Israel.
Yemen
The Houthi rebels in Yemen, led by Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, backed Hamas and said that if the US intervenes in the Gaza conflict directly, the group will respond by firing drones and missiles, and take other military options. “There are red lines when it comes to Gaza,” he said, as per LiveMint.
Qatar
Another Middle East nation supporting Hamas in the war is Qatar. In a statement, Qatar has held Israel responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its ongoing “violations” of the rights of the Palestinian people.
Syria
The Syrian government is also a supporter of the Hamas group after its president urged Islamic nations to stand for the Palestinian cause. According to Reuters, Iran’s economic influence in war-torn Syria has grown in recent years, which has apparently supplied the government of President Bashar al-Assad with credit lines and lucrative business contracts.
On Thursday, Syrian state media said Israeli forces have hit the country’s two main international airports with missiles, putting them out of action. These airports also serve as key military bases in Syria, Reuters reported.