Jerusalem: Hamas praised Iran on Tuesday for what it described as “heroic” missile strikes launched in retaliation for the deaths of key figures, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan.
“We congratulate the heroic rocket launch carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran on large areas of our occupied territories, in response to the occupation’s continuing crimes against the peoples of the region, and in retaliation for the blood of our nation’s heroic martyrs,” Hamas stated.
On Tuesday, Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel in response to Israeli strikes targeting Tehran’s allies in Lebanon. Israel responded with a vow of a “painful response” against Iran.
This retaliation follows Israeli airstrikes that killed Hezbollah’s top leadership in Lebanon, including Nasrallah, a significant figure in Iran’s regional fighter networks. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that the missile strikes were also in response to the assassination of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran back in July.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza, who have been engaged in a prolonged conflict with Israel for nearly a year, celebrated the missile strikes as they watched rockets aimed at Israel. Although Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted many, some rockets fell inside Gaza, with no reported casualties, according to witnesses.
In central Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on a group of Palestinians, killing at least three and injuring others, medics reported. According to locals, some people attempted to use the chaos from the Iranian missile strikes to return to homes they had been evicted from by Israeli forces.
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The Israeli military confirmed the engagement, saying they fired on a group of Palestinian “suspects” who posed a threat to Israeli forces. “There were no casualties among the forces, and the incident is under control,” the military stated.
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In Nuseirat, one of Gaza’s refugee camps, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced families killed three people, according to medics. Across the Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes claimed at least 43 lives on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said.
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Hezbollah has been launching rocket attacks into Israel for almost a year in support of Hamas in the Gaza conflict. The war, which began after Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel on October 7, has devastated Gaza, displacing millions and claiming over 41,600 lives, according to local health authorities. Israel reported that 1,200 people were killed in the initial Hamas attack, with more than 250 taken hostage.
