Palestinians in Gaza applaud Iran's attack on Israel as retribution
Palestinians in Gaza view Iran's retaliatory strike against Israel as retribution for Israeli offensive actions, and Hamas considers Iran’s response to Israel ‘natural right’
Iran's attack on Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday as rare payback for the Israeli offensive on their enclave. Some, however, speculated that Tehran's assault was more for show than for real damage.
"For the first time, we saw some rockets that didn’t land in our areas. These rockets were going into the occupied Palestine,” said Abu Abdallah, referring to land that became Israel in 1948 rather than the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Many in Gaza have felt abandoned by Middle East neighbors since Israel began an offensive that has killed more than 33,000 people in response to attacks on Israeli soil by Hamas, who killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages on Oct. 7.
However, support has come from Iran and its regional proxies, particularly Tehran's ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, who are allies of Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers.
Whoever attacks Israel is a hero in the eyes of Palestinians
Footage circulated from the enclave showed many residents, including those inside displacement tents, whistling, and others chanting Allah Akbar (God is the Greatest) in joy as the skies were lit up by Iranian rockets and Israeli interceptions.
"Whoever decides to attack Israel, dares to attack Israel at a time when the whole world acts in its service, is a hero in the eyes of Palestinians regardless of whether we share their (Iran's) ideology or not,” said Majed Abu Hamza, 52, a father of seven, from Gaza City.
“We have been slaughtered for over six months and no one dared to do anything. Now Iran, after its consulate was hit, is hitting back at Israel and this brings joy into our hearts,” Abu Hamza added.
Hamas considers Iran’s response to Israel ‘natural right’
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Sunday said the Iranian military response to Israel was a “natural right” for Tehran after Tel Aviv targeted its mission in the Syrian capital, Damascus, in early April, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, the group said that it considered “the military operation carried out by Iran against the occupying Zionist entity (Israel) a natural right and a deserved response to the crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus and assassinating several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders there.”
Hamas stressed “the natural right of countries and peoples of the region to defend themselves against Zionist attacks.”
The movement called on “the Arab and Islamic nations, and the resistance forces in the region to continue their support for the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, and for the right of our Palestinian people to freedom, independence, and the establishment of their Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Iran began an airborne attack Saturday against Israel in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital. The strike killed at least seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two top generals.
Tehran has accused Israel of carrying out the attack and vowed to respond. Tel Aviv has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack but it has for months carried out several strikes against Iranian targets across Syria.
Source: Newsroom
