Raisi says Iran supports 'legitimate defense' of Palestinians against Israel
Death toll continues to mount as Palestinian groups and Israel attack each other
TEHRAN
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has declared his country's full support to Palestinian resistance groups against Israel.
In a statement on Sunday, a day after the Gaza-based Hamas resistance group launched what it calls "Operation Al-Aqsa Storm Flood" against Israel, Raisi said Iran supports the "legitimate defense of the Palestinian nation."
At least 600 Israelis have been killed in the latest conflict, while the death toll on the Palestinian side has also jumped to 370, according to reports citing officials.
The Iranian president accused Israel and its allies of "jeopardizing the security" of regional countries, saying it must be held accountable.
He called on Muslim countries to support the Palestinian nation, emphasizing that oppression and injustice, insults to Palestinian women and prisoners, and desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque "will not last."
He said the "Zionist enemy," a reference to Israel, should know that "the equation has changed" and Palestinians are "winners."
Hamas in a statement after Raisi's remarks said the Iranian president in a phone call with group leader Ismail Haniyeh extended support to Palestinians.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Saturday congratulated Hamas on "opening a new page of resistance," saying it proves how "fragile" Israel is.
He said the latest operation had again proved that the invincibility of Israel was an "empty claim," adding that Israel "always faced failure and humiliation" whenever it has tried to carry out an operation in Gaza.
Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also extended Iran's support to the Palestinian groups.
"We will stay with the Palestinian Mujahideen until the liberation of Palestine and Al-Quds," the former chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday.
Thousands of people poured into the streets of Tehran on Saturday evening to celebrate the Palestinian operation against Israel.
The biggest gathering was held at Palestine Square in central Tehran where people danced and burst firecrackers.
Iran and Israel are bitter arch-foes and share no diplomatic ties since the 1979 Iranian revolution. The two sides have often accused each other of sabotage and proxy attacks.
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