TEHRAN – Iran has vehemently condemned Israel's deadly strikes on schools and educational facilities in the Gaza Strip, asserting that these actions will not compensate for Israel's "strategic defeats."

The condemnation came from Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday.

Kanaani criticized Israel for fabricating weak justifications for its assaults on educational institutions, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian students and educators over the past several months. "In nearly ten months of the Zionist regime’s brutal attack on Gaza, about 8,600 students and more than 500 teaching staff have been martyred," Kanaani stated.

He highlighted that with the closure of schools and the use of these buildings to shelter refugees, the Israeli military continues to target these places, citing feeble excuses. "The criminal leaders of the Israeli apartheid regime and their Western supporters should know that none of these criminal actions can compensate for their strategic defeat against the patient and resistant nation of Palestine," he added.

Kanaani pointed to a recent incident at al-Falah School in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, where Israeli airstrikes killed at least two Palestinians and injured five others. The school was sheltering displaced Palestinians when it was bombed, causing severe damage. Witnesses reported that medical and civil defense teams rushed to the scene to search for victims and tend to the injured.

"For a regime that can only commit crimes to survive, annihilation is the final and nearest destination," Kanaani declared, referring to the Israeli government.

The conflict escalated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas, the Palestinian Resistance movement, initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against Israel. This action was a response to Israel's long-standing campaign of violence and destruction against Palestinians.

In conjunction with its military efforts, Israel has enforced a near-total blockade on Gaza, significantly limiting the availability of essential supplies such as food, medicine, electricity, and water. This blockade has severely impacted the Palestinian population's access to basic necessities.

The conflict has had devastating consequences, with at least 38,000 Palestinians killed, most of whom are women and children. Additionally, 89,622 have been injured, and over 1.7 million people have been displaced internally.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently ordered Tel Aviv to cease its military operations in the southern city of Rafah. This area had become a refuge for over a million Palestinians before it was invaded on May 6.

On Friday, ICJ also ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible.”

The court said Israel has no right to sovereignty of the territories, is violating international laws against acquiring territory by force and is impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” the court said.