"Israel has the right to defend itself" and "protection of civilians is essential", Nato chief says Nato’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters after the defence ministers’ meeting that allies condemned Hamas and called for the release of all hostages. Israel has the right to defend itself, he said, noting that a number of Nato allies are providing practical support to Israel. Allies strongly condemned Hamas’ indefensible attacks on civilians and called for the immediate release of all hostages. Our thoughts are with all those affected by these horrific attacks. Israel has the right to defend itself, and as the conflict unfolds, the protection of civilians is essential. No nation or organisation hostile to Israel should seek to take advantage of the situation or to escalate the conflict. Summary of the day Nato defence ministers met in Brussels to discuss a wide range of issues, from military plans to tensions in the western Balkans. Ministers held a session with their Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, who joined via videoconference to brief on Hamas’s attack. Haim Regev, Israel’s ambassador to the EU and Nato, told the Guardian after the session that “we do not ask specific things from Nato as Nato”, but that Israel want to see “strong support” from the alliance and “it was extremely important that the defence ministers will hear first-hand what happened”. Ministers also discussed damage that was recently discovered to a pipeline and cable in the Gulf of Finland. Estonia’s defence minister, Hanno Pevkur, said after the meeting that he got “100% support” from allies and there are “no assumptions” about what happened to the undersea infrastructure. “We said to the investigators very clearly that you have free hands, and no assumptions – just take the facts.” Nato’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters after the ministers’ meeting that “Israel has the right to defend itself, and as the conflict unfolds, the protection of civilians is essential.” The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said in a press conference that the US is moving to help Israel – while also continuing to support Ukraine. “The United States can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said. Allies put more pressure – in private and in public – on Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. Asked about the damage to undersea infrastructure between Estonia and Finland, Lloyd Austin said he was aware of the reports of the attacks on the infrastructure and has been in touch with colleagues in both countries. Austin said they are investigating, and thus he would not speculate on the reports. The US has offered help to Finland with its investigation, the secretary noted. Asked about Iran’s possible involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel, the US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, said the US has not seen any indication that Iran was involved in the planning or execution of this attack. This is something the US remains focused on, he added. Asked what assurances the US has asked from Israel when it comes to assistance, Lloyd Austin told reporters at Nato today that no conditions were placed on provision of equipment. The Israeli forces are a professional military, he said. “We would hope and expect that they would do the right things” and there is “no reason to believe” they would do anything differently, he said. The US would support Israel in terms of intelligence in any way it can, and sharing mechanisms are there, he said. Asked about Hezbollah’s role, Austin said the US has not seen a massing of forces on the border. US will get Israel what it needs while also supporting Ukraine, Austin says The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, told reporters in Brussels following a Nato ministers’ session that nobody should try to take advantage of Hamas’s assault to cause more instability. Washington is working to get Israel what it needs, while also supporting Kyiv, Austin stressed. Our support for Israel is rock solid. We’re working urgently to get Israel what it needs to defend itself, including munitions and iron dome interceptors, and we will do so even as we continue to support the people of Ukraine as they fight against Russian aggression. Make no mistake, we can and will stand by Israel even as we stand by Ukraine. The United States can walk and chew gum at the same time. Asked about the situation in Kosovo, Jens Stoltenberg said Nato has a responsibility and takes this very seriously. Nato has already increased its presence with more troops from Romania, Bulgaria and the UK, he noted. It is a tense and difficult situation, which Nato is following very carefully, Stoltenberg said. The main message, he said, is that Pristina and Belgrade need to refrain from actions that can further inflame tensions. The EU and Nato are working closely together, he said, pointing to the EU-led dialogue. Asked about the security of undersea infrastructure, Stoltenberg said it is obvious that pipelines and cables are of critical importance for societies and much has been done to protect this infrastructure. After the damage to the Nord Stream pipeline last year, Nato stepped up its work and established a cell to better coordinate efforts, he noted. We need to realise that undersea infrastructure is extremely vulnerable, the Nato chief said, noting that this is about sharing information and deterrence to reduce risks. Now, there is a need to wait for the outcome of investigations into the latest incident between Estonia and Finland. Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, told reporters that Nato as an alliance is not directly involved in the Middle East but was briefed by Israel’s defence minister today. Allies condemned the attacks against civilians in Israel, and as this conflict evolves, it is important to protect civilians, he said. There are rules of war, he added. Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomes comments from Turkey’s defence minister that Ankara stands by an earlier agreement to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership bid. Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Sweden’s application. Nato’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters the situation in the Middle East is very challenging and that there is a risk that nations or organisations could try to take advantage. No one should try to utilise the situation, he stressed. After the defence ministers’ session, Nato’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said that allies expressed strong solidarity with Estonia and Finland as they work to establish facts on damage to undersea infrastructure. If this is proved to be a deliberate attack, it would be met by a united and determined response, he said. "Israel has the right to defend itself" and "protection of civilians is essential", Nato chief says Nato’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters after the defence ministers’ meeting that allies condemned Hamas and called for the release of all hostages. Israel has the right to defend itself, he said, noting that a number of Nato allies are providing practical support to Israel. Allies strongly condemned Hamas’ indefensible attacks on civilians and called for the immediate release of all hostages. Our thoughts are with all those affected by these horrific attacks. Israel has the right to defend itself, and as the conflict unfolds, the protection of civilians is essential. No nation or organisation hostile to Israel should seek to take advantage of the situation or to escalate the conflict. What issues were the most pressing at Nato’s meeting? We asked diplomats. As Nato’s defence ministers wrap up a two-day meeting in Brussels, we asked senior European diplomats what received the most attention. One senior diplomat pointed to four issues: Continued practical support for Ukraine and discussions on Kyiv’s future political path toward Nato. Protection of critical underwater infrastructure in light of recent incidents in the Finnish Gulf. Executability of regional defence plans. Hamas terror in Israel. A second senior diplomat gave a similar list: Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Nato yesterday “underscores the challenge to continue the level of support and for Ukraine to communicate its gratitude to the supporting states”. Making sure the new defence plans will be executable. A third senior diplomat said: “Good, standard stocktaking. Nothing revolutionary.” “Regional plans, filling the gaps.” “Practical support to Ukraine, reforms.” “Strong push for Sweden’s accession.” Estonia’s defence minister, Hanno Pevkur, speaking to the Guardian at Nato’s headquarters, said that from his perspective “the most important still is to keep the unity for Ukraine”. Asked about the future of US financing for Kyiv, the minister said “you can see that there is a very strong bipartisan support, and I truly believe that also among Republicans, there is a clear understanding what Ukrainians are fighting for … they are doing that for the whole free world. “I still believe that although the elections are approaching and everything, that there will be consensus – or at least common sense will win at the end of the day.” Asked about tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, Pevkur said all Nato countries support the alliance-led Kfor peacekeeping mission, Pevkur said: “We just have to monitor very closely what is happening, and if needed I believe there is a readiness among allies to act.” Speaking about the implementation of Nato’s new military plans, the Estonian minister said there was a clear message from everyone that it is “member states’ responsibility to give the necessary forces”. There are still some “understandable gaps”, he said, adding that he hopes more alliance members will cross the goal of spending more than 2% of economic output on defence.