TEHRAN - The resistance of the Palestinians against Israeli aggressions “would expedite the fall of the child-killing” Tel Aviv regime, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday.

Raisi made the remarks a day after the deadly Israeli airstrikes on a residential area in the besieged Gaza Strip. The strike resulted in the killing of twelve people, including Tayseer al-Jabari, a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad movement, and a five-year-old girl.

“The Zionist regime once again showed its aggressive and occupying conduct to the world, but the resistance of people of Gaza would expedite the fall of this child-killing regime,” Raisi said.
Senior Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh accused Israel of “a heinous crime” and tweeted that “the international community should be ashamed of its silence about this and its failure to provide protection to the Palestinian people from this oppression.”

Quds Force chief likens Israel to ‘rotting body’ 

Following the attacks on Gaza, the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) also said the Israeli regime’s security is sharply declining.

“Every day at least 15 operations are conducted against the occupying regime’s positions and that is why they installed barriers even inside the settlements to protect their lives,” Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmail Qaani said on Saturday, Press TV reported.

Qaani said Palestinian resistance forces are making preparations to deal the last blow to the “Zionist regime’s rotting body”.

Iran backs the oppressed Palestinians as it did in the past, and the U.S. and Israel cannot break down their resistance, Qaani asserted.

Major General Hossein Salami, the IRGC chief, has also warned that “more than 100,000 missiles are ready to be launched in Lebanon to make a hellfire for the Zionists.” 

The Tel Aviv regime is continuing its acts of aggression against the besieged Gaza. At least two Palestinians have been killed and several others injured when the Israeli occupation forces conducted fresh airstrikes against the coastal enclave on Saturday.

In the first response to the Israeli attacks, the Islamic Jihad fired more than 100 rockets toward the occupied territories. The movement called the retaliatory barrage only an “initial response” to the Israeli bloodbath.

Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad, said the enemy must expect a "non-stop" confrontation in the wake of the Friday aggressions.

“There are no red lines in this battle and Tel Aviv will fall under the rockets of resistance, as well as all Israeli cities,” al-Nakhalah said.

Hamas also issued a statement saying, “The blood of our people and our Mujahedin will not go in vain.”

Rocket Sirens sounded in southern central occupied lands as Islamic Jihad resistance fighters responded to air strikes. 

Iran calls new wave of Israeli air raids “criminal, adventurous and provocative”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on Friday denouncing the brutal attack by the "apartheid Israeli regime" on Gaza, saying the Palestinians people and groups have the right to respond to Israel’s terrorist moves.

"It is the legal right of the Palestinian people and resistance groups to act and defend themselves in the face of the aggression and terrorist moves of the Zionist regime," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

The Israeli regime's new wave of air strikes across the besieged Gaza enclave was a "criminal, adventurous and provocative" move, Kanaani pointed out.

The spokesperson emphasized that the "apartheid regime of Israel" shoulders full responsibility for the "crime" and the consequences of its aggression on Palestine including the Gazans, Press TV reported.

Kanaani urged all countries and international bodies to fulfill their legal, moral and human responsibility to defend the oppressed Palestinians and condemn the atrocities by the Israeli regime.

They should also take measures to stop the continuation of such crimes, which is the main factor behind instability and insecurity in the region, he said.

Israel faces barrage of strong condemnations for its Gaza raids 

The international community has strongly condemned the new Israeli air raids on Gaza.

The Palestinian Authority condemned “the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and demanded its immediate cessation”.

“The presidency called on the international community to compel Israel to stop this aggression against our people everywhere, particularly in Gaza, and to provide them with international protection,” the PA said in a statement.

The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process warned the “dangerous” escalation risked creating the need for more aid at a time when world is facing other conflicts.

“In the past few hours, at least 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes. I am deeply saddened by reports that a five-year-old child has been killed in these strikes. There can be no justification for any attacks against civilians,” Tor Wennesland said.

Arab League holds occupiers responsible for ‘bloody crimes’
 The Arab League issued a statement condemning the Israeli aggression against Gaza, and said “it holds the occupiers responsible for its consequences and bloody crimes.” 

On Saturday, Turkey also strongly condemned the airstrikes on Gaza, and said it is “unacceptable that civilians, including children, lose their lives in attacks.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement urged “restraint and common sense” amid rising tension in the region.

“We are deeply concerned about the rising tension in the region after the attacks. We emphasize the need to end these events before they turn into a new spiral of conflict,” it said.

Jordan also demanded that Israel “immediately stop its aggression” on the Gaza Strip.

Jordan Foreign Ministry spokesman Haitham Abu al-Ful warned of “dangerous” consequences that “will only increase tension and violence and deepen the environment of despair”.

“The solution to the problem of the Gaza Strip and preventing the escalation of violence lie in finding a real political horizon by returning to the negotiating table to achieve a just peace on the basis of the two-state solution,” he pointed out.

Moreover, an unnamed Egyptian security source told AFP news agency that Cairo is working to calm the latest escalation in Gaza.

“We hope to reach a consensus to return to calm as soon as possible,” the source said.

Separately, another source said a delegation from the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad movement may head to Cairo later on Saturday.

Qatar also issued a statement expressing its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of Friday’s deadly attacks on Gaza. The Qatari Foreign Ministry stressed “the need for the international community to move urgently to stop the occupation’s repeated attacks against civilians, especially women and children.”

The ministry reiterated, “The State of Qatar’s firm position on the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Additionally, the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli airstrikes.

“We condemn the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and ask the international community to fulfill its responsibility towards the Palestinians,” it said in a statement.

Algeria also expressed its concern about the escalation of tensions, saying, “We strongly condemn the brutal aggression of the occupying Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip.”

The Iraqi resistance movement Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq also said, “We emphasize our constant solidarity with the Palestinian nation, and their resistance to thwart aggressors' plots.”

The anti-terror Kata'ib Hezbollah movement stated, “We are not surprised by the assassination of our brethren in Gaza by the Zionist regime. We are astounded by the silence of the Arab world.” 

“Repeated Israeli attacks against the resilient Palestinian nation are the unfortunate outcome of normalization of ties with the Zionist regime. Targeted killings and bombardment of residential buildings is a confirmation of the enemy’s criminal approach,” it added.

Hadi al-Amiri, Secretary General of Iraq's Badr Organization, also said, “We condemn the cowardly aggression of the Zionist regime against Palestinians. 

 “The Zionist enemy continues its crimes amid the silence and submission of the region’s despots, and collaboration of the regimes that support the bogus regime,” Amiri pointed out.

Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement also underlined the Palestinian nation’s inalienable right to defend themselves.

The political bureau of Ansarullah stressed that Palestinians reserve the right to respond to the barbaric aggression of the Tel Aviv regime.

Ansarullah also called on Arab and Muslim nations to honor their responsibilities, and help the Palestinian nation and resistance groups in their struggle against the Israeli regime.