Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s Defence Ministry confirmed on Thursday that its air defence systems are actively intercepting a missile attack over the capital, following multiple explosions reported in the skies above Doha, Al Jazeera reported. 

The blasts raised alarm among residents and triggered emergency response measures across the city.

AFP reporters on the ground saw a column of black smoke rising on the horizon as several explosions were heard, marking some of the most intense attacks since Iran began targeting Gulf states last Saturday. The missile strikes are part of Tehran’s ongoing retaliatory campaign following US and Israeli air attacks on Iran.

Meanwhile, Bahrain Defence Force has said it has destroyed 75 missiles and 123 drones “targeting the Kingdom since the start of the brutal Iranian aggression”, in a post on its Instagram account.

The escalating conflict has led to a flurry of evacuation efforts worldwide, with countries like Australia, New Zealand, and several European nations deploying military and charter flights to bring their citizens home from the Middle East.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reports that US and Israeli strikes have resulted in 1,332 attacks since Saturday, claiming more than 1,000 lives. Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has stated that its navy struck a US oil tanker in the northern Gulf, causing a fire onboard. Gulf nations continue to face repeated waves of Iranian drone and missile attacks in retaliation for the US-Israeli air campaign.

Hours before Thursday’s attack, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke to Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, marking the first high-level contact between the two countries since the start of the missile and drone campaign. The Qatari premier accused Iran of seeking to "harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs," according to a statement issued by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.