Hailing Hamas, Iranian president says October 7 massacres will destroy Israel

The October 7 Hamas massacres in southern Israel will bring about the downfall of Israel, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Friday, speaking in Kerman at a funeral for the 89 people killed in twin blasts claimed by the Islamic State group.

The suicide bombings struck crowds in the southern city, where many had gathered on Wednesday to commemorate slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general Qassem Soleimani, on the fourth anniversary of his death in a US drone strike.

The attack killed 89 people, state TV said, raising an earlier toll following the deaths of several of the wounded.

Speaking at the funeral, Raisi hailed Hamas for its deadly October 7 onslaught, in which thousands of terrorists attacked more than 20 communities across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing around 240 hostages.

“We know that ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation will bring about the end of the Zionist regime,” he said, using Hamas’s name for the attack. READ MORE