Israel Conducts Extensive Airstrikes, Eliminates Hamas Operatives

In an interview with Iran International, the Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan called the Iranian regime a global threat and said: “The Ayatollah regime today is exactly like the Nazi regime during WWII,” after Israeli civilians were slaughtered in the deadliest single day since the Holocaust last Saturday. 

Erdan said when the leaders of Hamas publicly thank the Islamic Republic for providing them with weapons and funding, there is no need for us to prove Iran’s direct involvement in the offensive against Israel which saw thousands of Hamas militia enter Israel by air, land and sea last Saturday, after a barrage of thousands of rockets, which continues.

A recently resurfaced video of Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, thanking Iranian leaders for providing them with “weapons, money and other equipment” has caused social media controversy, reinforcing the long-standing links between the group and Iranian regime.

“The situation in Gaza is under the responsibility of Hamas which has been oppressing people for the past 18 years and using every dollar that is being transferred to Gaza for humanitarian assistance and using it for its terror machine,” Erdan said.

Despite lauding Hamas' Al Aqsa Flood operation, which has resulted in more than 2,500 deaths in Israel and Gaza so far, Iran's ruler, Ali Khamenei denies any responsibility for the terror attack.

"We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime .... but those who claim that the recent victory belongs to non-Palestinians have miscalculated”, he said at a recent military graduation ceremony.

Iran's Foreign Minister adopts a more assertive tone. Currently, on a regional tour, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that the resistance groups have planned for all possible scenarios warned, if Israel's attacks on Gaza do not cease immediately, the Hamas-Israel conflict might spread to other countries in the Middle East.

As of yet, the United States has not directly blamed Iran for the attack. National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that the White House has not seen "hard, tangible evidence" that Iran was directly involved in Hamas' attacks against Israel.

In contrast, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Iran was responsible for helping Hamas grow to the point where it launched the attack on Israel last weekend, and that organizations that backed the Islamist movement would be severely repressed.

Meanwhile earlier this week, the UN Security Council was unable to reach the unanimity needed for a joint statement on the surprise ground and rocket attack on Israel, despite convening an emergency meeting behind closed doors. Members of the Security Council led by Russia were hoping for a broader focus than just condemning Hamas, according to diplomats.

The Iranian regime is a matter of direct concern for Israeli authorities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames Iran for having "encouraged and directed" the incident and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also holds Iran responsible for funding the group: "Our neighbor is Hamas, the ISIS of Gaza. An organization enjoying the Iranian payroll," he said.

There is a clear incentive for Iran in this attack by Hamas because it coincides with a US-backed initiative aimed at encouraging Saudi Arabia to normalize its relations with Israel, which has been suspended, according to AFP.

According to the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran has established a network of at least 19 armed groups along Israel's borders, including in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza are the two largest of these organizations.

Abdolhamid distanced himself from the regime’s goal of Israel's annihilation during his Friday prayer sermon, decried the attacks on civilians “that has shocked the world,” without directly mentioning the Tehran-backed Islamist group Hamas.

Hamas unleashed a bloody invasion into Israel on October 7, inflicting the biggest loss of life in one day since the Holocaust. Israel has been pounding Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas rampage in Israel this week that has killed over 1,300 people, the deadliest attack on civilians in the Israeli history. More than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed.

In an apparent condemnation of Hamas attack, he said, "If Muslims disregard international laws, assault women, and kills children, we do not blindly support it. "He noted that extremism by anyone is not tolerable. He emphasized that Israel should also refrain from violating international laws.

The outspoken cleric said, "Anyone with a shred of humanity is deeply affected when seeing these heart-wrenching scenes of human slaughter."

He added, "The reality is that neither Muslims can destroy Israel, nor Israel can eliminate Palestinians. It's not achievable. When something is not achievable, why use force?"

Abdolhamid emphasized the importance of maintaining a "fair stance" and suggested that governments and nations worldwide should strive to resolve differences rather than aligning themselves in this conflict. He said Israelis and Palestinians are two "nations" living alongside each other and also endorsed the idea of establishing two states.

The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation, with Palestinian and Arab leadership demanding full Israeli withdrawal from territories it occupied in 1967, which is rejected by Israel. 

Abdolhamid’s practical views for a solution to the decades long conflict are in stark contrast to that of the Islamic Republic, which only sees the destruction of Israel as the solution.

In 2015, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel must be destroyed in 25 years and the government even set up a countdown clock in Tehran and a few other cities. Many Iranians mock the anti-Israel rhetoric and the ticking clock, but the regime is adamant in pursuing the goal. Regime authorities use every opportunity to stress the necessity of "Israel's destruction," a slogan that has justified Iran’s huge financial and military support to militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, while Iranian increasingly safe poverty and a bleak economic future.

While the Islamic Republic is cheering about the war in Israel, Iranians’ reactions to the regime’s propaganda indicate a complex societal schism. In Iran, once Khamenei dictates the regime's policy themes concerning global developments, other officials, clerics, and his representatives across the country begin to disseminate them.

Earlier in the year, Abdolhamid called for peace between Muslims and Jewish people, stating that "No one should think of the destruction of others, and everyone should think about peace." His remarks came against the backdrop of Iran’s repeated warnings against normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries.

While Saudi Arabia and Israel had never been closer to a deal to establish official relations, US officials and a lot of pundits are of the opinion that the Hamas attack was meant to disrupt the normalization process.

After Abdolhamid’s sermons on Friday, people in several cities of the predominantly Sunni province of Sistan-Baluchestan took to streets and held anti-regime rallies.

Mowlavi Abdolhamid, the Friday Prayer Imam in Zahedan, used his weekly sermon to condemn attacks on civilians without specifically mentioning the militant group Hamas. He stressed that blind allegiance to Islamic groups does not have his approval, affirming, "Extremism from any quarter, when it entails harm to people or children, is unacceptable to us."

Simultaneously, he expressed concern about the current humanitarian situation in Gaza as a consequence of Israel's response to the attacks. The Sunni leader endorsed the concept of a two-state solution for the Palestinian issue, emphasizing the need for a just resolution to the current crisis.

He added, "The reality is that neither Muslims nor Israel, can achieve the destruction of the other one. It's an unattainable goal. Why resort to force when the objective is unattainable?”

His remarks stand in contrast to the stance of the Islamic Republic, which has consistently advocated for the "destruction" of Israel, effectively rejecting the notion of a two-state solution.

In a 2011 conference in Tehran, Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei declared, "Any plan that seeks to divide Palestine is destined for failure."

Iranian authorities exploit every opportunity to underscore the imperative of Israel's "destruction," a slogan that has been accompanied by substantial financial support for militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

However, in the wake of widespread global criticism of Hamas's attack on Israeli territory, Ali Khamenei distanced Iran from the surprising assault in his initial official response.

Amir-Abdollahian who was meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus as part of a regional tour, was quoted as saying that Iranian and Syrian support for the Palestinians is not a secret, but repeated Tehran’s position that it was not directly involved in the attack.

Hamas launched a surprise invasion of southern Israel on October 7, using thousands of forces who killed well over 1,000 Israeli civilians, prompting a siege of Gaza and relentless Israeli bombing of targets in the Palestinian enclave.

The Iranian regime immediately congratulated Hamas, calling the attack a heroic act and organizing street celebration. However, as governments and international media asked if Tehran had a role, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tried to distance the regime, saying the attack was a Palestinian operation.

Amir-Abdollahian also told Assad that “the resistance is capable of resisting against the Zionist regime for a long time.”

The Islamic Republic uses the term “Resistance Front” to refer to many of its proxy militant armed groups around the region, and the Syrian regime. Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas are the largest of these groups receiving hundreds of million dollars a year from Iran, in addition to weapons and training.

The Israeli military has surrounded the Gaza Strip with the aim of an eventual ground operation that according to officials is aimed to eliminate Hamas as a fighting force. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been told by Israel to evacuate to safer areas to reduce civilian casualties.

Hassan Rouhani, the former Iranian president, has issued a statement condemning Israel for declaring an all-out war against Hamas in Gaza where the militant Hamas group has its base.

Rouhani said that the current situation highlights the “suffering” endured by the “people of Palestine” inflicted by Israel’s “Zionist Regime for the past 75 years.”

The state of Israel was established in 1948 and recognized by the United States at the same time.

“Censorship of the truth, one sided accounts of events, and political and media repression,” Rouhani mentioned as examples of what the Palestinian people have had to deal with.

The former President's remark contrast with the behavior of the Iranian regime that has denied basic freedoms to Iranians for 44 years. It has killed thousands of protesters in recent years and jailed tens of thousands of people, in addition to thousands who have been hanged.

Meanwhile, a representative of Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei in the southwest province of Khuzestan has also issued remarks praising Hamas’s attacks on Israel.

Abdolnabi Mousavi-Fard claimed that any scene of Hamas fighters using violence against Israeli civilians is fabricated. “My regret is that some people think Israelis are innocent,” he added.

The Islamic Republic is the main supporter of Palestinian militant group such as Hamas, leading to speculation about Iran’s direct involvement in the October 7 attack.