Egyptian PM’s Visit to Gaza in War Time Means Encouraging Resistance

A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official hailed the recent visit to Gaza by Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil while the Palestinian enclave was under Israeli attack, saying the move had the message of resistance for the Palestinians.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Qandil’s recent visit to Gaza, amid Israel’s ongoing airstrikes, was a courageous act and sent a strong message of resistance and bravery to the international community.

Israeli forces launched more attacks on the Gaza Strip on Friday morning despite an earlier pledge to halt strikes during the visit to Gaza by Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil.

Qandil arrived in Gaza on November 16 amid Israel’s ongoing airstrikes on the besieged territories of Gaza in order to express Egypt’s solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel triggered the current fighting by assassinating the military chief of the ruling Hamas group on Wednesday followed by dozens of airstrikes on Gaza.

Ahmed al-Ja’abari, the popular and influential head of the Hamas military wing, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was assassinated in an Israeli attack on his car on Wednesday.

On Friday, Ahmed Abu Jalal, a field commander of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike on the central Gaza district of Maghazi.

Over 115 people have been killed and more than 900 others injured in the new wave of Israeli attacks.

At least 25 Palestinian children have been killed thus far and over 225 injured in Israeli airstrikes since Wednesday, according to the UN.