Iraq’s top shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

Iraq’s top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has condemned the bloody onslaught launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, calling on the international community to act swiftly to put an end to the atrocities committed by the regime in the besieged territory.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ayatollah Sistani’s office described the ongoing situation in Gaza as a catastrophe taking place before the eyes of the entire world.

The statement said almost no place in Gaza is currently safe for the people after five days of bombardment which has left behind massive destruction and killed and injured some 6,000 people.

It said the occupying regime’s imposition of a total blockade on Gaza which has cut food, water and medicine supplies to the coastal territory shows that the regime is seeking to compensate its losses in recent confrontation with Palestinian fighters by wreaking vengeance on the people of Gaza.

The entire world should stand against this terrifying savagery and prevent the continuation of plots by the occupying forces seeking to inflict more harm on the oppressed people of Palestine, said the statement.

The statement added that the only way to restore peace and security to the region is to put an end to some seven decades of grievances of the people of Palestine by giving them their legitimate rights and ending the occupation of their territories.

Ending the tragedy of this honorable people, which has been ongoing for seven decades, by attaining them their legitimate right and ending the occupation from their usurped lands, is the only way to achieve peace and security in this region, read part of the statement.

Without that, the resistance will continue against aggressors and the cycle of violence will continue to claim more innocent lives, the statement added.

Israel’s bloody campaign against Gaza started on October 7 when the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement launched a blitz into the occupied territories, killing hundreds of Israeli settlers and military forces.

The resistance front says Operation al-Aqsa Storm is a legitimate, natural response to Israel’s mounting atrocities and violations at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Gaza, a tiny coastal strip of land, is home to some 2.3 million people who have been living under a blockade since Hamas took control there in 2007.

There is no growing concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza as trapped residents are cut off from food, water and electricity.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that crucial life-saving supplies, including fuel, food and water, must be allowed into Gaza.

We need rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access now, he told reporters.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric later said, Civilians need to be protected. We do not want to see a mass exodus of Gazans.