Iran calls Israeli attacks on Gaza war crimes

TEHRAN, March 12 (MNA) – In a statement issued on Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned recent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip as inhumane war crimes. On Saturday, AFP quoted Palestinian medics as saying that 16 Palestinians had been killed and at least 20 wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. An Israeli military spokesman said that Zohair al-Qaisi, the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), and PRC member Mahmoud Hanini were killed in an attack, adding that Israeli officials ordered the assassination because they had allegedly received reports that Qaisi was planning attacks against Israeli targets. The Foreign Ministry’s statement said that the Zionist regime ordered the ‘savage’ assassination of Qaisi in line with its purposeful policy of sponsoring terrorism. It also criticized the international community and the self-proclaimed supporters of human rights for remaining silent about the violation of human rights and killing of innocent and defenseless Palestinians by the Zionist regime and called on them to fulfill their humanitarian obligations to defend the Palestinian people. The statement also urged Muslim countries, regional and international organizations, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and all independent governments and nations to take serious measures in response to the Zionist regime’s criminal actions.