A man stands atop the rubble as smoke rises from a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, March 14, 2026. HASSAN AMMAR / AP
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called on Iran on Saturday, March 14, to refrain from targeting neighboring countries, while affirming Tehran's right to defend itself against Israel and the United States.
In a rare appeal, Hamas also urged the international community to take steps to end the war that has gripped the Middle East since it began on February 28.
"While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries," Hamas said in a statement, its first such public appeal to Tehran.
Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, meanwhile, has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel since it joined the Middle East war, sending Israelis in the country's north fleeing to shelters. Israeli strikes targeting the group have killed nearly 800 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
