Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader says Israel is committing 鈥榮hameless crimes鈥� against children

A woman mourns as she holds the shrouded body of her child who was killed during an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza City's Zaytoun neighbourhood on September 21, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)
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  • Khamenei said Israel was not even hiding its different forms of 鈥渟hameless crimes鈥� in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria

TEHRAN: Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Saturday that Israel is committing 鈥渟hameless crimes鈥� against children, not combatants.
His comments came a day after an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killed at least 31 people, including three children and seven women, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Friday鈥檚 strike, which according to a source targeted a building next to a nursery, was the deadliest in a year of conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
It followed two days of attacks in which pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded. Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Khamenei said Israel was not even hiding its different forms of 鈥渟hameless crimes鈥� in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.
It is not combating 鈥渇ighting men, but ordinary people,鈥� Khamenei told a group of envoys from Muslim countries in Tehran in remarks broadcast on state TV.
鈥淯nable to hurt the real fighters in Palestine, they are venting their malicious anger on small children, on hospital patients, and on schools filled with young children.鈥�
Also on Saturday, in a show of strength, Iran unveiled its 鈥淛ihad鈥� single-stage liquid-fuel ballistic missile with a high-explosive detachable warhead and a range of 1,000 km, according to state TV.
The missiles were displayed, along with other military hardware, during a parade marking the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 war with Iraq.