Leader of Islamic Ummah: Israel’s Crimes in Gaza Not to Remain Unanswered

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said that Israel has been knocked out by Hamas in the October military operation, and added the regime’s atrocities towards Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will not go unpunished.

In a meeting with Iran’s sports champions and medal winners of the Asian Games and the Asian Para Games in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei lauded those athletes who expressed their support for Palestine and the Palestinian cause, and withdrew from competing with the Israeli representatives in Hangzhou’s international sports tournament.

“The veracity of their act is now manifested more than ever before in the wake of Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” he stated.

“Today, the whole world has realized why the Iranian athlete will not agree to face the Zionist side on the field,” the Leader continued, adding, “Because [the athlete] is a criminal and he is doing sports and going to the field for a criminal state; [therefore] helping him is helping a terrorist and criminal regime.”

Hailing the Palestinian fighters’ largest-ever military blow to Israel in early October, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed, “If I am going to offer you a breakdown on the recent developments, it goes as, the Zionist regime was knocked out in Al-Aqsa Storm.”

Stressing that the Zionist regime is still reeling from the burden and disgrace of a heavy defeat after the Hamas military operation, the Leader said, “Yes, they are flexing muscles; but where? This show of power has no value when it comes to the hospitals for patients in Gaza, to the schools in Gaza, on the heads of the homeless people of Gaza.”

“It’s as if an athlete loses on the field, and then in revenge for that loss, he attacks the fans of the opposing team, insults them and beats them up,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Pointing to Israel’s incessant shelling of Gaza over the past 47 days, the Supreme Leader said, “There is nothing more ignominious than what the Zionist regime has perpetrated. The Zionist regime’s heavy defeat will not be compensated by these bombings; such bombardment campaigns will only shorten the life of the occupying regime; [and] this tyranny and cruelty will not go unanswered.”

Elsewhere in his address, Ayatollah Khamenei censured the politicization of sports and the double-standard approach by certain international organizations.

“They say sports is not political, but when they need to politicize sports, they politicize it in the worst way. At the slightest excuse, a country is banned from participating in all international sports events. Why? [Because] You fought somewhere; but they, themselves, ignore the 5,000 martyred children in Gaza,” he stated.

The Leader stressed that they ban a country on the pretext of war while ignoring another country’s war, war crimes, and even genocide.

In early October, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air against Israel. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,200 and injured over 5,500, according to Israeli officials. Hamas also announced it is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages.

Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 14,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,800 children and over 3,900 women, and wounding over 33,000 others, and levelling entire neighbourhoods. The bombing, as well as enforced displacement orders by the Israeli Army, has also pushed 1.7 million people out of their homes.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza, cutting off food, electricity, fuel and water supplies. The move has plunged the blockaded territory into a humanitarian crisis.

The Gaza Health Ministry has confirmed that the healthcare system in the besieged territory has “totally collapsed due to the Israeli war”. Dozens of hospitals and tens of medical centers are out of service due to Israeli raids, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The UN agencies have also warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is “catastrophic”, calling for more international help as conditions deteriorate in the densely populated besieged enclave.

Iranian officials have in recent weeks cautioned that the current status in West Asia resembled a powder keg which could spiral out of control. They warned that if diplomatic pushes to stop Israeli assault are unsuccessful, there is a risk of the conflict escalating uncontrollably, with multiple regional players joining the fight.

Iranian officials say the Palestinian resistance movements do not face a shortage in munitions and other military equipment and are ready for a long battle with Israel and they are currently considering various options in response to the Zionist regime act of aggression and relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Tehran says the history of Israel is full of assassinations, massacre, torture and killing of Palestinian kids, and described Tel Aviv regime’s atrocities and massacre of Palestinian women and children as indicative of the destitute of Zionists. Iranian officials say Tel Aviv has been struggling for more than 70 years to exit its identity crisis which has been mixed with genocide, plunder, forced displacement and scores of other inhumane moves.