Iran military chief: Balance of power shifted away from ‘infanticidal Zionists’ toward Palestinians

Iran’s top military commander says as a result of the anti-Israel resistance’s rising strength, the balance of power in the region has changed in favor of Palestinians in their confrontation with the Zionist regime.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the remarks in a Thursday message in which he strongly condemned the latest criminal acts of the Zionist regime against Palestinian people across the occupied territories.

Stressing the need for the establishment of a strategic and powerful coalition to resolve the issue of Palestine, Baqeri said, “The savage crimes committed these days by the brutal and infanticidal Zionist regime in the occupied territories and the Holy [Jerusalem] al-Quds, and killing of a large number of fasting, oppressed, innocent and resistant people of Palestine, have greatly saddened the entire world, especially the Islamic Ummah.”

The top Iranian commander also expressed regret about the complete silence of regional and international organizations as well as those governments that claim to be advocating human rights and the rights of nations in the face of Israel's crimes in the occupied territories.

“The balance of power has shifted in favor of Palestine more than ever in the light of the flourishing discourse of resistance and Intifada as well as what is now emerging through continued rocket strikes in the battlefields of Palestinian resistance fighters and combatants against the criminal Zionist regime,” General Baqeri said.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli media reported that more than 100 rockets were launched from Gaza toward Ashdod, Ashkelon and Tel Aviv, in a show of force by Palestinian resistance groups against Israel, which has already been surprised by their capabilities.

The Hamas military arm took responsibility for the attack, saying it used a new rocket type called the “Ayyash 250.”

Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said that the rockets had a reach of more than 200km and had been aimed at Ramon airport, based near the city of Eilat.

Abu Ubaida also warned international airlines to “immediately halt their flights” to any airport in the occupied territories. British Airways said it was canceling flights to Tel Aviv amid the escalating tensions.

Videos circulated on social media, showing travelers at Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion, running for shelter after a rocket landed near the airport.

Earlier, the Israeli military announced that Palestinian resistance groups had launched around 1,600 rockets into the occupied territories since Monday evening.

“Undoubtedly, the criminal actions of the wicked Zionist regime have further unified the oppressed people of Palestine, strengthened faith in resistance and resilience, and boosted their power for the final victory,” Baqeri said.

The general said Muslims throughout the world, in addition to Palestinians, will never forget the betrayal of certain Arab countries that normalized relations with the occupying and “child-killing” regime in Tel Aviv.

He also warned Israel and its regional and extra-regional supporters, particularly the “Great Satan [or] the terrorist regime of America,” that the Islamic Resistance Front and the followers of the path of resistance martyrs have paved the way for the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem al-Quds and secured “the definite elimination of the Zionist regime from the geography of the region and the holy land.”

“The flames of their sacred wrath will eventually turn the existence and evil presence of these usurping criminals into ashes,” Baqeri added.

The death toll from Israel’s relentless aerial bombardment of Gaza has risen to 87, including 18 children and eight women, since the Israeli aggression began late on Monday. Over 530 others have also been wounded.

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