IRGC Commander: Israel, Supporters Afraid of Face-to-Face Battles with Palestinians

Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that the Israeli military and its Western allies are terribly afraid of face-to-face engagement with the Palestinian fighters in the besieged Gaza Strip, adding that Tel Aviv is heavily bombing civilians out of despair.

Rear Admiral Fadavi stated on Sunday the precision missiles of the Palestinian resistance movements have inflicted a “strategic defeat” on Israel and its backers.

The second-in-command of the IRGC stressed that “Zionists and their allies” know they are not capable of “direct confrontation” with Palestinian fighters and therefore are targeting Gaza with “bombs and missiles and destroying non-military buildings and hospitals”.

The senior commander slammed the West’s support for the crimes of Israel and said all the efforts by those who sought for decades to portray a good image of the regime have been wasted since the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7.

Fadavi added the resistance front has capability of destroying state-of-the-art drones of Israel and the United States both in Gaza and in Yemen.

In early October, Hamas launched a multi-pronged surprise military operation via land, sea and air. The group announced it was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians. The attacks have so far killed more than 1,200 and injured over 5,500, according to Israeli officials. Hamas also announced it is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages.

Following the multi-front attack by Hamas, Israel carried out heavy bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 11,000 Palestinians, including at least 4,500 children and over 3,000 women, and wounding over 30,000 others, and levelling entire neighbourhoods. The bombing, as well as enforced displacement orders by the Israeli Army, has also pushed 1.5 million people out of their homes.

Tel Aviv has ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, saying it would halt its supply of electricity, food, water and fuel. Israel’s military has also ordered 1.1 million people living in Northern Gaza to evacuate their homes, amid signs it is set to ramp up its offensive.

The Gaza Health Ministry has confirmed that the healthcare system in the besieged territory has “totally collapsed due to the Israeli war”. The UN agencies have warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is “catastrophic”, calling for more international help as conditions deteriorate in the densely populated besieged enclave.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where some 2 million people live in an area of 140 square miles. It has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 17 years. More than half of its population lives in poverty and is food insecure, with nearly 80% of its population relying on humanitarian assistance.

Iranian officials say the current status in West Asia resembled a powder keg which could spiral out of control. They caution that if diplomatic efforts to stop Israeli relentless bombardment and prevent a ground offensive on Gaza are unsuccessful, there is a risk of the conflict escalating uncontrollably, with multiple regional players joining the fight.

Tehran says the history of the apartheid regime is full of assassinations, massacre, torture and killing of Palestinian kids, and described Tel Aviv regime’s atrocities and massacre of Palestinian women and children as indicative of the destitute of Zionists. Iranian officials say the Tel Aviv regime has been struggling for more than 70 years to exit its identity crisis which has been mixed with genocide, plunder, forced displacement and scores of other inhumane moves.