SAEDNEWS: "The Americans must stop being hypocritical and talking about a ceasefire while encouraging the Zionist regime to attack Rafah,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said during a cabinet session on Sunday.
He also said Israel continues its war crimes against the people of Palestine in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and has caused a critical situation in northern and southern Gaza, particularly in Rafah.
According to Amir-Abdollahian, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has presented a comprehensive plan on behalf of the Gazans to stop the Israeli genocide in the strip and lift its siege, secure a prisoner swap deal, and reconstruct the war-ravaged territory.
“However, the resistance leaders have warned that any military action against the residents of Rafah will have severe reciprocal consequences,” the top Iranian diplomat emphasized.
He also argued that the Israeli regime has failed to achieve its desired goals in Gaza, and “this is the reason it still continues to beat the drum of war and threat.”
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that Iran strongly supports any solution to the ongoing crisis that would improve regional security and safeguard the Palestinian people’s rights.
Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza has forced the local residents to flee toward the southern city of Rafah, bordering Egypt.
The Israeli military has been carrying out airstrikes on the border city and has announced plans to launch a ground invasion.
Meanwhile, Egypt is constructing a walled enclosure along its border with Gaza, sparking concerns over potential Palestinian displacement as Israel considers expanding its offensive into Rafah.
According to reports, more than 28,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 68,880 others injured since the Israeli regime launched its US-backed onslaught on Gaza on October 7, 2023.