Iran Demands End To Israeli 'Crimes', Calls For Permanent Ceasefire In Gaza

On Monday, Iran called for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza to stop Israel's "crimes" in the territory as the truce between Israel and Hamas entered its final day. With the four-day truce set to end on Monday, Hamas has expressed willingness to extend the pause and release more hostages.

Israel said it is open to extending the truce in Gaza if more captives are released by Hamas. Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been pressing for an extension of the four-day truce that ends on Monday.

The pause, initiated on Friday, has seen dozens of hostages freed, with over 100 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in return.

Nasser Kanani, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, said, “As the Islamic Republic of Iran, we want and expect... that the crimes of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people will be stopped completely.”

Iran is "following" the extension of the truce “with the regional party active in this field, the state of Qatar,” he said while Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was on a visit to Doha.

"One of the main goals of the ongoing negotiations and efforts is to ensure that the existing temporary ceasefire takes a stable form and that the cruel aggression of the Zionist regime (Israel) against Gaza is not repeated," he said, adding, “It seems that the Zionist regime after not being able to achieve its objectives after the offensive on Gaza wants to obtain a tangible victory”.

Speculation around Iran’s involvement in Hamas’s attack on Israel has been rampant, along with questions about whether the Islamic Republic will get involved in the war between Israel and Hamas. Though Iran and Israel have been in conflict since the 1979 Iranian revolution, there has never been outright war between the two. Regional tension and cross-border clashes have intensified since October 7.

So far, more than 14,854 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll stands at 1,200.