Bahrain’s highest Shia religious authority Sheikh Isa Qassim has hailed the Palestinian offensive by the Hamas resistance movement against Israel.
In a statement released on Monday, the senior cleric said Operation al-Aqsa Storm was a “humiliation, disgrace, and a scandal” for the regime.
“The al-Aqsa Flood is a rare lesson in courage, intense bravery, enormous sacrificial risk, careful planning, [and] abundant faith,” the statement read.
Sheikh Qassim said the message of the operation should be “received by our glorious nation [Ummah] of faith” as a demonstration that “nothing stands between the nation and sweeping victory except a united stance to recover Palestine.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the cleric condemned certain Muslim countries for normalization of relations with Israel. He also denounced Manama’s decision in 2020 to establish official diplomatic ties with Israel.
“There is no longer any room for feeling weak, nor for respecting normalization or being courteous to those who call for it,” the Shia cleric said. “Today, the nation’s confidence in victory must grow, its determination to defeat the enemy must intensify, and its unity on this path must be achieved.”
Israel has stepped up attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip as its troops struggled to clear out Hamas resistance fighters more than two days after they burst across the fence from Gaza and overran a number of Israeli bases.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the regime was “at war.”
Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet voted to put Israel officially at war, and it can carry out “significant military activities.”
The decision, announced on Sunday, formally authorizes “the taking of significant military steps,” it said in a statement.
Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult” war ahead.
The Israeli military has said dozens of warplanes were carrying out a wave of “intense” airstrikes on Gaza.
US unconditional military support for Israel
Meanwhile, the Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel.
Israeli warplanes bombed a densely populated neighborhood at the Jabalia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll from the attacks had reached 510, including 91 children and 61 women, with over 2,700 others injured.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had dropped some 2,000 munitions on Gaza in 20 hours.
The military said more than 700 Israelis have been killed since the operation was launched on Saturday, but Yediot Ahronot said it estimated there were 1,000 deaths.
Hamas has said the unprecedented operation came in response to Israel’s crimes against Palestinians in the occupied territories, its 16-year-old blockade of Gaza and the regime’s violations at al-Aqsa Mosque.
