TEHRAN – A ceremony honoring the Palestinian journalist martyrs who lost their lives during the recent Gaza conflict was held in Tehran on Saturday.

The event, titled "Mourners of Al-Aqsa," was attended by Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance; Seyyed Mojtaba Abtahi, the Secretary General of the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada of Iran’s Parliament; and Khaled Qadoumi, the Hamas’ representative in Tehran. 

The event also welcomed representatives of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Palestinian journalists, media executives, and experts in the Palestinian and West Asian fields.

Speaking at the event, Iran’s culture minister discussed the contemporary conflicts and the importance of journalism in such circumstances.

Esmaeili discussed the changing nature of contemporary conflicts, particularly the presence of narrative warfare alongside actual military confrontation. 

He condemned the Zionist regime for violating ethical, international, and humanitarian norms and for having access to various political and military tools.

Esmaeili also emphasized the evolving role of politics, security, media, and news, explaining that these changes were not predictable even decades ago.

Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of a free and impartial press, highlighting the significance of journalism in contemporary conflicts. 

He denounced any attempts by governments to use journalism as a political tool.

The Palestinian resistance groups hold a significant advantage over the Zionist regime in contemporary warfare, he mentioned. 

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 2,200 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/