The Israel-Hamas war|The reactions

Billström: Early decision – taken out of pure care

Anyone who has read the news reports in the past 24 hours will understand why the Foreign Ministry is tightening the travel advisory for Israel and Palestine. This is what Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) says to SvD.

- The fact that we are far ahead and make this decision early is of course out of concern for our citizens, but also because the Swedish state wants to be clear about when it can help and when it cannot help its citizens.

If the situation continues to escalate, Swedish embassy staff will find it difficult to provide consular assistance, adds Billström.

Currently, around 4,000 Swedes are in Israel and around 400 in the West Bank, according to the Foreign Ministry. A few hundred are also believed to remain in Gaza.

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Diplomats in crisis meetings to avert full-scale war

US and European diplomats are holding crisis meetings on the Middle East in a race against the clock to stave off the threat of full-scale regional war, the Financial Times reports.

Enrique Mora, one of the EU's most senior diplomats, has spoken to officials in Iran and Brett McGurk, the White House's top Middle East official, has held talks with Saudi Arabia.

Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have all threatened retaliation after Israel was singled out for the deadly attacks on Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran and two Hezbollah commanders in Beirut.

According to the Financial Times, the diplomatic pressure is aimed at making Iran refrain from responding, or give a symbolic response.

New York Times sources inside Iran have stated that the country is considering a combination of drone and robotic strikes against military targets near Tel Aviv and Haifa, but intends to avoid civilian targets.

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Concerns cause several airlines to pause flights to Israel

Several airlines are canceling flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel. This is because of the uncertain situation after the deadly attack on Hamas leader Isamil Haniya in Iran last night, reports CNBC.

Among others, Delta and United Airlines are canceling flights. British Airways is also pausing departures.

Iran has threatened retaliation against Israel, which is believed to be behind the attack. According to sources to the New York Times, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered a direct attack.