TEHRAN- The Iranian film community has released a statement condemning the killing of innocent men, women, and children in Gaza committed by the Zionist regime. 

So far, over 470 cinema veterans, filmmakers, young activists, and industry professionals have signed on to the statement, with the process of receiving more signatures ongoing, Mehr reported on Friday.

Notable names include Ebrahim Hatamikia, Masoud Jafari Jozani, Ahmadreza Darvish, Mohammad Khazaei, Abolqasem Talebi, Marzieh Boroumand, Pouran Derakhshandeh, Ahmadreza Darvish, Rasul Sadrameli, Parviz Sheikhtadi, Manuchehr Shahsavari, Mohammad Mehdi Asgarpur, Manuchehr Mohammadi, Kamal Tabrizi, Alireza Davudnejad, Habib Esmaeili, Hushang Tavakoli and many others.

In the statement, the film community emphasized that turning a blind eye to the brutality of the Zionist regime is an act of betrayal and crime. The current wave of warfare has once again brought shame upon the world, with thousands of innocent Palestinians and refugees from Gaza being left defenseless in the face of the onslaught. In the shadow of international organizations' indifference and the complexities of blind diplomacy, it is up to all artists and filmmakers to become the forefront of human dignity.

The statement further stresses the importance of standing on the right side of history, denouncing the savagery of the Zionist regime. “As artists and filmmakers in Iran, we join hands in solidarity with all innocent victims of war and condemn the heinous and inhumane killing of women, mothers, children, and elderly in Gaza and Palestine.”

The list of cinema veterans and artists supporting the statement continues to grow, and the process of receiving names is ongoing.

The Hamas resistance movement launched a large-scale attack dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm against Israel last week. The group said the offensive happened in response to Israel’s repeated violence against Palestinians and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

Israeli settlers accompanied by the regime’s armed forces stormed the compound several times in the past year, assaulting Palestinian worshipers in a move that has been seen as a big provocation. 

Israel has responded to Hamas’s operation by raining missiles and bombs on mostly civilian sites in the Gaza Strip. Over 3,500 Palestinians have so far been slaughtered, with women and children among the dead. The regime has targeted residential buildings, schools, hospitals, mosques and the besieged enclave’s infrastructure. 

That’s while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the regime’s ongoing attacks on Gaza "will be remembered by Hamas and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come". Some analysts have raised concerns that Netanyahu might be thinking of committing a genocide of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

SAB/