TEHRAN- The head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that Israel’s “galloping” assault on the Gaza Strip has abruptly stopped following the regime’s acceptance of a truce in its war against Gazans.

Addressing a gathering of Basij forces in Yazd on Thursday, Major General Hossein Salami warned that if Israel does not learn from its mistakes, it would suffer even greater devastation.

“Today, we see that the regime that was galloping has suddenly stopped. If they had been winning, they would not have stopped themselves,” he added. 

 “So it is clear that today’s impotence, inability, and failure are part of the nature of this evil power, and now they must avoid repeating their mistakes. Otherwise, they will be destroyed more.”

General Salami maintained that Israel’s choice to leave its fortifications and fight the battle in the open in Gaza was a miscalculation that had cost it more than 300 tanks and personnel carriers.

“The enemy thought that they could raise their victory flag by killing children, women and babies, and their only definition of victory was burying the defenseless people under the rubble.”

He also noted, “Another mistake they made was that they went out from behind the walls and as the Holy Quran says from behind the strong forts they had built, and removed the barrier between themselves and the Islamic fighters, bringing 1,600 tanks and armored personnel carriers into the field with their own hands.”

According to Gen. Salami, Israeli forces got into problems when they entered direct confrontation with Palestinian adolescents.

“While they did not see the youths, the youths saw them, and the war between the tanks and the invisible ghosts began, and the tanks were destroyed at close range, and so far more than 300 tanks and personnel carriers have been destroyed,” he said.

After that, Gen. Salami said, the Israelis realized that the road is closed and if the war continues, they will surely have their war machine destroyed.

“In the north, Hezbollah engaged them, and they also faced problems in the West Bank. They were awake day and night and had become exhausted and anxious, because according to the Quran, they are the companions of fear.”

Salami also averred that “the Gaza war was the most difficult one Muslims have ever faced, in which America, France, England, Germany, Israel, and some hypocrites coalesced - and we know who they are - but were all defeated and dejected together.”

“In a world where there are arrogant people, the path of Muslim happiness passes through the swords of Jihad, and this is the lesson that the heroic Gaza has taught us,” he said.

“The war in Gaza showed that the enemies and the arrogant powers are much closer to destruction than we thought.”

The IRGC chief said, “We are sure that the children of Palestine will emerge victorious because they have been victorious so far.” 

“They thank God when they hold the bodies of their dead children in their hands. Such a people will never be defeated by the enemy,” he added.

Speaking at a gathering of academics on Tuesday, the IRGC chief also underscored the exposure of the true nature of the United States, the West, and the Zionists to the global community in the aftermath of the Gaza war. 

He reminded that while the Zionists anticipate a ceasefire amid their crisis, the United States is likely to impede it.

Highlighting the internal upheaval among Zionists, deemed more perilous than the situation in Gaza, Salami drew a sharp contrast with the serene state of mind among the people of Gaza.

Reflecting on the events in Gaza and Zionist actions, the commander remarked that the calculations of the United States, the West, and the Zionists faltered under the impact of Hamas’s surprise operation.

He also emphasized that the resistance group’s operation against Israel undermined the global standing of the United States.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas carried out a surprise attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against Israel on October 7. The surprise operation was in response to the intensified crimes of the occupying regime against the Palestinians. Since then, Israel has been relentlessly conducting air and ground assaults on Gaza, targeting hospitals, schools, and places of worship.