The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has praised the sacrifices and bravery of the Palestinians and their resistance against the Israeli aggression that has been going on for months as a result of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Ayatollah Khamenei made this statement in a post on his social media account on Thursday, hours after the announcement of the long-awaited ceasefire agreement to end Israel’s brutal 16-month-long attack on Gaza. The Supreme Leader said that the world has realized that the patience of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance forces have forced the Israeli government to retreat. History books will write that one day the Zionist group massacred thousands of women and children in a very horrific way and finally left a stain of shame on its feet, but the Palestinians sacrificed their lives to uproot its arrogance. It should be remembered that the ceasefire was announced as a result of long negotiations between the illegitimate government of Israel and Hamas on behalf of the Palestinians, mediated by Qatar and Egypt. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani announced late Wednesday that the ceasefire will be in three phases and will take effect from Sunday over a period of 42 days. The ceasefire agreement stipulates a large-scale prisoner exchange, which will see the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners captured in Gaza who are serving long sentences in Israeli jails. The agreement states that attacking Israeli military units will gradually withdraw from Gaza.
Israel launched its brutal attack on Gaza on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led resistance groups launched a historic operation against the occupying state called Al-Aqsa Storm to avenge Tel Aviv’s severe atrocities against the Palestinian people. Since October, the occupying government has martyred at least 46,707 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and injured about 110,265 others. On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi congratulated the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas on its resistance to the Israeli army’s genocidal war in Gaza and the victory of the Palestinian people, which has resulted in Israel leaving Gaza. Araqchi made these remarks in a telephone conversation with Khalil Al-Haya, deputy head of the movement’s political bureau, on Thursday evening. Araqchi praised the Palestinian people’s remarkable steadfastness in the face of Israeli genocide and war crimes over the past 15 months. Meanwhile, a Hamas official The Foreign Ministry also provided updates on the latest situation in Gaza and ceasefire negotiations.