Pakistani airstrikes on Iran on Thursday morning killed four children and three women, a local official told Iranian state television.

A deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchistan province, Ali Reza Marhamati, gave the casualty figures in a telephone interview. He did not immediately elaborate.

The strikes early Thursday follow Iran launching strikes into Pakistan on Tuesday night, raising tensions between nuclear-armed Islamabad and Tehran. It also comes amid Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip raising tensions across the wider Middle East.

TOPICS: airstrikes deaths gaza Iran israel hamas war Middle East nuclear threat Pakistan Palestine spreading of conflict tensions terrorism terrorist hideouts women and children