Iran urges Islamic countries to leverage their potential to halt Gaza massacres

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) - Iran strongly condemned Saturday’s massacre in southern Gaza by Israel, which claimed at least 90 lives, urging Islamic countries to leverage their potential to stop these deadly attacks.

In a statement posted on X, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani described the missile attack targeting refugee camps in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis as the “latest crime” committed by the “child-killing Zionist regime,” referring to Israel.

At least 90 Palestinians have been reported dead and about 300 others injured in the attack on displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, according to the region’s Health Ministry.

The area had reportedly been designated by Israel as a “safe zone.”

Kanaani said the relentless attacks in the besieged Palestinian territory come amid the silence of international community, the complicity of European governments, and the failure to utilize the “unparalleled potential” of Islamic countries.

“This occurs amid the deadly silence of international forums, under the shadow of explicit military aid from the US regime, the complicity of certain European governments with duplicitous and deceitful behavior, and the lack of prudence and failure to use the unparalleled potential of Islamic countries,” he said.

He added that Israel is resorting to this “savagery” after facing defeat from Palestinian resistance groups.

“To make up for their defeats on the battlefield against the resistance, they recognize no human or ethical boundaries concerning the defenseless residents of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Kanaani added that such actions will only “result in more global hatred” for Israel and “hasten its demise.”

Over 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7, most of them women and children, and tens of thousands more have been injured, displaced, and left homeless.

Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian, in a letter to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday, reaffirmed the country’s “continued support for the Palestinian nation.”

He stressed that due to the “steadfastness of the Palestinian nation and the heroic bravery” of the resistance fighters, “the final victory” belongs in the hands of the Palestinians.