Senior Analyst: Zionists Terrified by Defense Power of Palestinian Resistance

Tehran university professor and political analyst Seyed Mohammad Marandi said that Israel’s security weaknesses were identified in the 12-day war and the Zionists were terrified by the high defense power of the Palestinian resistance forces.

“The victory of the Palestinian resistance front shows that although the security holes in Israel have become very significant, the Zionists have not been able to understand the changes and development in the military possibilities and equipment of the resistant forces in Gaza,” Marandi told FNA on Saturday.

“The Palestinian resistance front has managed to easily enhance its defense capacity and terrified the Israelis to such levels that they inflicted serious damage on Israel’s economy. On the other hand, the Israelis did not dare to enter Gaza due to the strength of the resistance and incapability to confront the resistant forces in a ground war,” he added.

Marandi blasted the Zionist regime for targeting innocent Palestinian people and residential buildings, saying that this led to their defeat both militarily and in the international community.

He also underlined the importance of Iran’s support for the Palestinian resistance, and said, “By supporting Palestine, Iran was able to strengthen and stabilize its position in the Arab and Islamic world, and in fact, Iran and Palestine are the flagbearers of the struggle against the usurper Israel.”

The Palestinians and Israeli regime declared a truce on Friday after 12 days of war.

The Israeli military launched a bloody military onslaught against the Gaza Strip on May 10, razing many homes and civilian buildings to the ground in the already-besieged Palestinian territory.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources reported that the death toll from Israel’s ongoing aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip has risen to at least 248 Palestinians, including tens of children and women.

The report by the Palestinian Health Ministry noted that Israel’s military aggression, which lasted for 12 days, has also wounded over 1,900 civilians, dozens of them seriously.

Meantime, retaliatory rocket attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad against Israeli targets came in response to Israel’s relentless airstrikes on the densely-populated enclave.

On May 16, Israeli major general Ori Gordin said Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups had fired around 3,000 rockets toward the occupied territories over the previous several days, surpassing the pace seen during an escalation in 2019 and the 2006 war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance group.

Israel had to accept self-declared ceasefire on Friday.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei congratulated the Palestinian people’s victory over Israeli regime in their battle, and stressed that the Zionist regime will become weaker than ever.

Ayatollah Khamenei, in his message, thanked God All-mighty for the victory and honor he bestowed on the Palestine and voiced his congratulations for victory over the criminal Zionist regime.

“Peace be upon the powerful and oppressed Palestine, the brave and zealous youth of Palestine, the heroic and resilient Gaza, Hamas and Jihad and all political groups in Palestine,” the Leader said.

“The divine test of these few days made the Palestinian people proud. The savage and wolfish enemy correctly recognized that it is unable against the unified uprising of Palestinian people. In these 12 days, the tyrant regime committed great crimes mainly in Gaza, and practically proved its inability to resist against Palestinian uprising. The continuation of the crimes and the request for a ceasefire both indicate its defeat. Finally, the enemy had to accept defeat,” he added.

The Supreme Leader further said that the wicked regime will become even weaker. The readiness of the Palestinian youth and manifestation of power of valuable jihadi groups will increasingly make Palestine stronger and the usurper enemy more powerless and despicable.

“The beginning and end of conflicts depend on the recognition of great Palestinian jihadi and political figures, but the preparation and strong presence in the scene should not be stopped,” he noted.

“The entire Islamic world is responsible and religiously duty-bound in the face of Palestinian issue. Political intellect and experiences of ruling also confirm and emphasize on this religious decree. Muslim states should sincerely support Palestinian people, either in the military reinforcement, financial support which is needed more than before, or reconstruction of infrastructures and ruins in Gaza,” Ayatollah Khamenei further stated.

“Muslim nations must demand this from their governments and the nations themselves are obliged to provide financial and political support as much as possible,” the Leader said.