Israel-Palestine live: Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire proposal, vows ‘total victory’

Following are reactions by leaders and officials to US retaliatory strikes on Friday in Iraq and Syria, after an attack in Jordan last weekend that killed three US troops and injured some 40 others.

Iran's foreign ministry

Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the air strikes were "violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Syria and Iraq and represented "another adventurous and strategic mistake by the United States that will result only in increased tension and instability in the region".

The US attacks were designed "to overshadow the Zionist regime's crimes in Gaza", he said, and urged the UN Security Council to prevent "illegal and unilateral US attacks in the region".

"The root cause of tensions and crises in the Middle East is Israel's occupation and genocide of Palestinians with America's unlimited support."

Iraqi foreign ministry

The Iraqi foreign ministry summoned the US charge d'affaires in Baghdad to deliver a formal memorandum of protest.

"Iraq reiterated its refusal that its lands be an arena for settling scores or showing force between warring countries," the ministry said.

Yahya Rasool, Iraqi military spokesman

"These air strikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences. The outcomes will have severe implications on the security and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region."

Syrian foreign ministry

"What [the US has] committed has served to fuel conflict in the Middle East in a very dangerous way."

UK government spokesperson

"The UK and US are steadfast allies. We wouldn't comment on their operations, but we support their right to respond to attacks. We have long condemned Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to a number of militant groups."

Hamas

Hamas condemned US "aggression" against Iraq and Syria describing it as a "dangerous escalation" and "an encroachment on the sovereignty of the two countries".

Hezbollah statement

"Hezbollah strongly condemns the blatant American aggression against Iraq and Syria. What the United States of America has done is a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the two countries, an attack on their security and territorial integrity, and a shameless violation of all international and humanitarian laws."

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova

"It is obvious that the air strikes are deliberately designed to further inflame the conflict. By attacking, almost without pause, the facilities of allegedly pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria, the United States is purposefully trying to drive the largest countries in the region into conflict."

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg

"I believe those who are attacking US bases have to know that they are actually pouring oil into the fire. And our common goal has to be to prevent the spillover at all costs. This is a powder keg, the whole Middle East, and there are too many people running around with matches."

Syria's culture ministry on Saturday condemned overnight US strikes that local media said damaged a historic site in Deir Ezzor province in the country's east.

The United States launched the air strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a recent drone attack on an American base in Jordan that killed three US soldiers.

Syria's culture ministry condemned "in the strongest terms the barbaric US bombardment of the Al-Rahba fortress" in eastern Syria's Mayadeen area.

In a statement on social media, it said the citadel, located along the Euphrates river, dates to the ninth century, without elaborating on the damage the site sustained.

The "blatant" attack violated "all international norms and charters that call for the protection and respect for cultural property", the ministry added.

A read-out by the Qatari foreign ministry on Saturday said that Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss the war on Gaza and funding cuts to the UN relief agency there, Unrwa. 

The prime minister "stressed the importance of Unrwa's role in helping millions in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, warning that defunding it would have catastrophic consequences".

Pro-Palestine protesters gathered in London on Saturday to demand a ceasefire. 

Since the escalation of Israel's war on Gaza, London has seen multiple large pro-Palestine protests.

Israeli forces have targeted another home inside the al-Jeneina neighbourhood in Gaza’s Rafah, local Palestinian media reported on Saturday.

According to the reports, the attack caused many people to be wounded. 

Demonstrators are set to protest tonight in front of the Israeli president’s house in Jerusalem, Haaretz reported on Saturday.

The protesters will call for immediate elections and for the captives held in Gaza to be released. 

Demonstrations will also be held in Haifa, Beer Sheva, Eilat and other cities. 
 

The US military’s Central Command says its forces shot down a drone over the Gulf of Aden on Friday.

It added that it later conducted strikes against four Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were being readied for launch, referring to the Yemen-based movement officially known as Ansar Allah.

"US forces identified the UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region. US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the UAVs in self-defence," a tweet from the US Central Command, Centacom, read.
 

Russia condemned on Sunday US air strikes on Iraq and Syria, in a statement from Russia’s foreign ministry.

“It is obvious that the air strikes are deliberately designed to further inflame the conflict. By attacking, almost without pause, the facilities of allegedly pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria, the United States are purposefully trying to drive the largest countries in the region into conflict,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the US was “sowing chaos and destruction” in the Middle East.
 

The Israeli army on Saturday dropped a newspaper in Arabic from the air on Gaza, titled The Reality.

The newspaper calls on people to "wake up to Hamas" and says that it "destroyed everything good, beat you and tortured you".

It adds: "You're still waiting? All of this is just a drop in the ocean."
 

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have gathered in central London.

 

Portugal said on Saturday that it has decided to provide additional support to the Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, pledging 1 million euros ($1.08m).

The decision was announced on a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Foreign Minister Joao Cravinho.

Cravinho said the decision comes after “a dialogue with” Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate, and it is essential that we do not turn our backs on the Palestinian population at this difficult time,” the minister said in his post on X.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced on Saturday that at least 11 displaced Palestinians have been wounded.

The displaced Palestinians were wounded after Israeli forces threw smoke bombs in the PRCS headquarters.
 

Iraq’s foreign ministry summoned the US charge d’affaires to Baghdad, David Burger, following US air strikes. 

Iraq’s government spokesperson, Bassem al-Awadi, called the air strikes a "blatant aggression".

"The American side then deliberately deceived and falsified the facts, by announcing prior coordination to commit this aggression, which is a false claim aimed at misleading international public opinion," he added in the statement. 

"The Iraqi government will make every effort required by moral, national, and constitutional responsibility to protect our land, our cities, and the lives of our children in all types of armed forces," he continued.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club announced on Saturday that Israeli forces detained 12 people in raids in the occupied West Bank.

The figure brings the total number of Palestinians detained since 7 October to 6,500.
 

Mahmoud Shalabi, an aid worker for Medical Aid for Palestinians, says that people in Gaza are now "on the brink of starvation".

In a voice note published by the organisation, he describes the dire conditions in north Gaza.