‘Islamic resistance will decide end of Gaza war’

A Iranian deputy foreign minister says although Israel began the ongoing war on Gaza, the Islamic Resistance will make the decision on how and when it would end.

“The Zionist regime [of Israel] wanted to target the arsenals and headquarters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance movements in a lightening attack,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday.

As many as 112 Palestinians have been killed and about 1,000 others injured in intensified Israeli attacks against the coastal sliver since November 14.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it had conducted more than 1,350 aerial and sea attacks against Gaza since the beginning of the escalated aggression.

Amir-Abdollahian stated that Israelis thought they could request a cease-fire after launching missile attacks against Gaza, targeting Hamas’ arsenals, and killing the Islamic Jihad’s leaders.

On November 14, Ahmed al-Ja’abari, the commander of Hamas’ military wing Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli attack on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Iranian officials added that later developments, however, proved Israel’s calculations and strategy wrong.

“The war might have been started by the Zionist regime, but ending it will not be decided by them and the resistance in Gaza and Palestine will decide how and when to end the conflict,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

The Iranian official stated that the visit by Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil to Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing airstrikes was a courageous act and send a strong message to the international community.

Qandil arrived in Gaza on November 16 in order to express Egypt’s solidarity with the Palestinians.