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Iran’s Quds Force Chief Praises Hamas’s Oct. 7 Attack, Vows Continued Support for ‘Resistance Front’
Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Qaani speaks in Tehran, Dec. 20, 2022. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
The head of Iran’s elite military force responsible for overseeing Iranian proxies and terrorist operations abroad praised the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel in new remarks, reaffirming Tehran’s “unwavering support for the resistance front” in a speech marking “Quds Day.”
Iranian Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, who leads the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an internationally designated terrorist organization, on Wednesday commended the Oct. 7 onslaught as “a combination of battlefield and popular resistance,” Iranian state media reported.
During his speech, the Quds Force commander said Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages while perpetrating mass atrocities including rape, “introduced a new phenomenon of unity among resistance fronts,” demonstrating the “strength and solidarity of resistance forces.”
Qaani also reiterated Iran’s “unwavering support for the resistance front,” stressing that it will “continue until the ultimate goal of liberating Al-Quds [the Arabic name for Jerusalem] is achieved.”
On Wednesday, leaders from the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — an Iran-led network of anti-Israel, anti-West militias across the Middle East — delivered pre-recorded speeches in preparation for Quds Day on Friday, broadcast alongside images of three figures killed in the past year: former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Sponsored by the Iranian regime, the annual Quds Day commemorations event is held in Tehran and several other cities, where Iran and its allies organize marches in support of the Palestinians and call for Israel’s annihilation.
In his remarks, Qaani emphasized that Iran remains committed to supporting the “Palestinian cause” through both direct backing for “resistance forces” and military operations such as “The True Promise” — the regime’s name for its ballistic-missile attack against Israel in October last year.
Iran is the chief international backer of Hamas, providing the Palestinian terrorist group with weapons, funding, and training. According to media reports based on documents seized by the Israeli military in Gaza last year, Iran had been informed about Hamas’s plan to launch the Oct. 7 attack months in advance.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya also delivered a speech praising “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” the terrorist group’s name for the Oct. 7 massacre, as an “unprecedented phase in the history of Palestine,” saying it “reshaped the fight for Palestinian liberation.”
During his speech, the terrorist group leader asserted that the attack demonstrated their ability to take the initiative and launch attacks, “exposing the Zionist entity’s security and military failures.”
“Despite months of relentless killing, terrorism, and destruction, backed by Washington’s full support, the occupation has failed to break the will of the Palestinian people,” al-Hayya said. “The ongoing struggle has forged a new regional power dynamic, uniting fighters from Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran in a common front against the occupation.”
In another pre-recorded speech, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem accused the United States of attempting to “dismantle the Palestinian cause” through Israel.
The leader of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, said Israel has “occupied Palestine for over 75 years” but failed to erase the “Palestinian identity.”
“Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was carried out to change the equation,” Qassem said. “The light of the Palestinian cause shines as a beacon of truth in the world, not to be extinguished.”
“The Zionist regime is grappling with an existential crisis and cannot secure its presence through occupation,” he continued.
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi also delivered a speech saying that Israel’s “continued aggression, supported by the United States, is aimed at dismantling the Palestinian cause.”
“The Israeli enemy’s actions, mass killings, destruction of infrastructure, starvation, and thirst clearly reveal their attempt to forcibly displace the Palestinian people,” al-Houthi said.
He called on Arab nations to take a “bold, historic stand” to prevent the “displacement of the Palestinians and resist normalization with Israel.”
“If the Israeli enemy succeeds in displacing the Palestinian people, the next target will be Palestine’s neighboring countries and the wider Arab world,” the Iran-backed terrorist group leader said.
“Despite the US attacks, Yemen will not back down and will continue its operations in support of the Palestinian people.”
The post Iran’s Quds Force Chief Praises Hamas’s Oct. 7 Attack, Vows Continued Support for ‘Resistance Front’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.