Iran's Zarif Deplores Continued Massacre of Civilians in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday strongly condemned Israel for pursuing the slaughter of defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip.
With savageness, Israel “pursues the murder of children and old men in Gaza as a national policy,” Zarif said in an address to a cultural ceremony in Tehran.
His remarks came amid Israel’s ongoing military assaults against the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of civilians have been killed since July 8.
So far, more than 1,700 Palestinians have been killed while over 9,000 others have been injured in 27 days of Israeli assault. Most of the casualties have been civilians, including a large number of women and children.
Also speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Sunday ceremony, Zarif denounced the Israeli offensive on Gaza as “genocide”, and called on the international community to take serious action against those crimes.
Voicing dissatisfaction with the inadequate measures to save people of Gaza, the minister added, “The international community needs to stop further tarnishing its reputation.”
He also pointed to Iran’s diplomatic efforts to rally support for Palestine, saying a ministerial meeting of the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) will be held in Tehran tomorrow.
Foreign ministers of the committee will gather in Tehran for an emergency one-day meeting to devise the necessary plans to alleviate sufferings of innocent people of Gaza following Israel’s military offensive.
Algeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, Egypt, India, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, Palestine, Zimbabwe, Indonesia and Malaysia comprise the member states of the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement.