At least 11 people have been killed after Iran and Pakistan traded airstrikes this week, signalling a worrying escalation of tension and armed conflict in a Middle East already wracked by violence and bloodshed, after Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks by Tehran-backed Houthi militia – who claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians besieged by Tel Aviv – on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Nine deaths, including those of four children, were reported from Iran Thursday and two, both children, from Pakistan the day before, after each nation said it had struck “terror groups”. Tehran said it targeted camps run by “terrorist group” Jaish al-Adl, and Islamabad said it had attacked Pakistani-origin terror groups in Baluchistan province along the shared border between the nations.

Apart from its strike on Pakistan, Iran also unleased missile-and-drone attacks on neighbouring Iraq and Syria, drawing sharp remarks by the United States, which conducted a fourth round of strikes of its own against Houthi targets in Yemen. Pentagon officials indicated Wednesday night that Houthi missile stocks – that could have been used to target shipping routes in the Red Sea – were destroyed.

China and India also released statements on the flurry of airstrikes by Iran, with Beijing calling for “restraint” from both sides and New Delhi distancing itself from “a matter between Iran and Pakistan”. The Indian Foreign Ministry also said it “understand(s) actions countries take in self-defence”.