Raisi: West’s ‘blind support’ of Israel feeding Gaza genocide
International Desk
The support of Western states for Israel has prompted the Zionist regime to intensify the genocide in Gaza, the Iranian president said in a phone talk with his Russian counterpart amid global calls for de-escalation.
Ebrahim Raisi blamed the doomed US policies for the current humanitarian crisis happening in Gaza, president.ir reported.
“The major disaster currently unfolding in the region is the result of the doomed policies of the United States and other Western supporters of the Zionist regime,” he said.
Fears for Palestinians trapped in the heavily bombarded Gaza have grown since Israel began preparation for the launch of a ground offensive against the enclave.
Iran has warned that an invasion of Gaza would be met with a response, prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries.
In his phone call with Vladimir Putin, Raisi reiterated the warning of expanding the scope of war, saying that he expects all countries and international organizations, including Russia as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to play a more effective role in stopping the war crimes of the Zionist regime.
Putin also emphasized that Russia’s analysis of the reasons for the current crisis in Gaza aligns with Iran’s, saying: “The extensive attacks by the Zionist regime on a densely populated area where over 2 million defenseless people live have no justification and should be halted as soon as possible.”
Biden: Occupying Gaza ‘big mistake’
US President Joe Biden warned Israel against occupying Gaza in one of his most notable public calls for restraint as Israel responds to the large-scale attack by Hamas that was launched on October 7 killing 1,400 people. The Hamas attack sparked a retaliatory bombing campaign, which according to Gaza authorities, has killed more than 2,750 and wounded nearly 10,000.
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Biden said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to occupy Gaza. Israel has been signaling it is preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, even as a humanitarian crisis grows inside the coastal Palestinian enclave.
“What happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people,” Biden told interviewer Scott Pelley.
Biden said he believes Hamas should be eliminated entirely, “but there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.”
Call for China’s intervention
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called on China to intervene and put an end to the ongoing carnage in the Gaza Strip where Israel is carrying out incessant attacks against the civilian population living in the enclave.
In a phone call with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday, Amir-Abdollahian said there is a need for the UN to assume its responsibilities with regard to international peace and security amid the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
He also asked China to use its diplomatic capacity to stop the Israeli regime from attacking civilians in Gaza, IRNA reported.
The foreign minister described the collective punishment imposed by the Israelis on Palestinians in Gaza as “unacceptable” while reiterating the need for setting up humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to the people in the enclave.
Need to open border crossings
The Iranian president also had a phone call on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which the two presidents discussed the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict, as millions suffer under the Israeli blockade in Gaza.
Raisi considered the efforts to reopen border crossings for sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as highly important and emphasized the readiness of his country to cooperate with Turkey and other Muslim states in order to end this humanitarian tragedy.
Furthermore, the Iranian president warned of the expansion of the scope of the conflict to other parts of the region if the Zionist regime’s criminal attacks in Gaza do not cease, saying: “The Zionist regime has once again proven that it is a racist and inhumane regime that will stop at nothing to achieve its goals.”
Erdogan also said ending the conflict as soon as possible was important for regional and global peace, and Turkey exerted efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza,” dailysabah.com quoted the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications.
Humanitarian aid stuck
On Monday, Palestinians in besieged Gaza crowded into hospitals and schools, seeking shelter and running low on food and water. More than a million people have fled their homes ahead of the expected Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas after its fighters rampaged through southern Israel, AP reported.
As the enclave’s food, water, and medicine supplies dwindled, all eyes are on the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where trucks carrying badly needed aid have been waiting for days. Meanwhile, mediators pressed for a cease-fire that would allow them to enter Gaza and allow foreigners to leave. Rafah, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, was shut down nearly a week ago because of Israeli airstrikes.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Israel “has not taken a position to open the crossing from the Gaza side”. The Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in UN facilities are on less than one liter of water per day. Hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse, with emergency generators that power machines like ventilators and incubators down to about one day of fuel and supplies of medicine almost exhausted.
International Desk