Iran's Middle East allies primed as Israel-Hamas war rages

The war has already spilled into the wider region and risks expanding further

Palestinians protest in support of the Gaza Strip in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon on Wednesday. Picture: Mahmoud Zayyat / AFP via Getty Images

The war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has already spilled into the wider region and risks expanding further, with Tehran backing an array of heavily armed groups.

Hamas and its Palestinian ally Islamic Jihad are part of an Iran-backed alliance called the "Axis of Resistance". Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on October 17 of further action by Tehran's allies against Israel if it did not cease its attacks.