Islamic Jihad chief: Victories in Palestine, Lebanon indebted to Iran

The head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad says victories in Palestine and Lebanon are owed to Iran’s support and effective role, describing the Islamic Republic as the house of the Axis of Resistance.

Ziyad al-Nakhalah met Iran's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri in Tehran on Thursday, where he touched on the Islamic Republic's retaliatory operations against the Israeli regime.

Dubbed Operation True Promise I and Operation True Promise II, the strikes were a strategic and influential development in the spirit of regional nations, Nakhala said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is the home of resistance,” he added.

Nakhalah also praised the effective and constructive role played by the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group in supporting the Palestinian resistance against the genocidal Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

“Palestinian resistance fighters fought shoulder to shoulder with Hezbollah comrades against the Zionist regime, and many of them were martyred and injured in the process," he said.

"This is a sign of the unity of the resistance front and a source of pride for the Palestinian nation.”

This military and political synergy among the resistance groups forced the Zionist enemy to retreat and accept the conditions of the resistance front for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Nakhala said.

Earlier Thursday, the Palestinian resistance handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives, killed in the regime's strikes on Gaza to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Hamas hands over bodies of 4 Israeli captives killed in regime strikes to Red Cross

Hamas hands over the bodies of four Israeli captives killed in the regime

Nakhala said they are now preparing for the second stage of the ceasefire "to swap officers and soldiers of the Zionist regime, so that all our prisoners could be released at once" and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza is realized.

For his part, Bagheri stated that support for the oppressed Palestinian nation constitutes the identity of Iran’s Islamic establishment.

He said Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution, institutionalized this principle in the Constitution and all branches of the Iranian government.

“Despite all problems, including war, sanctions, and foreign pressures, the Islamic Republic of Iran has never stopped supporting Palestine and the resistance over the past years. This is and will remain unflinching,” Bagheri said.

Bagheri noted that the developments of the past year and a half, irrespective of all Israeli crimes, the large number of fatalities and pressure on the oppressed Palestinian nation, have turned Palestine into the number one issue of the world.

“This has proven to the whole world that the Palestinian people’s struggle is legitimate, the Zionist regime is a criminal and usurper, America supports oppressors and usurpers, and Europeans’ support falls in the same category,” he said.

The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces stated that Israel’s main goals were to destroy the resistance front and expel Palestinian people from Gaza.

“The occupying regime did not achieve any of its goals. The ultimate victor of this war is the Palestinian people. This will be recorded in history,” Bagheri stated.

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