The Tehran-backed group urged its "brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries", saying in a statement that all regional nations should co-operate "to preserve the bonds of brotherhood". At the same time, Hamas, which runs Gaza, affirmed Tehran's right to defend itself against attacks by the US and Israel, which are continuing to strike Iran. The Iranian authorities have said their own retaliatory strikes target "American installations" on Gulf soil rather than the neighbours themselves - but many attacks have hit civilian infrastructure. At least 18 people have been killed across the region so far, most of them security personnel or foreign workers. The Palestinian group has previously condemned as a "heinous crime" the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war on 28 February. The Hamas-run health ministry said 649 people had been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect.