Iran says Israel must halt assault on Palestinians in Gaza

DUBAI, Oct 17 (Agencies): Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described Israel's assault on Gaza as a genocide of Palestinians and said it must stop immediately, state TV reported on Tuesday.

A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) also warned of further action by Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel if it did not cease its attacks.
Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory of Gaza with air strikes since Hamas fighters burst into Israel from the enclave on Oct. 7 and killed 1,300 people, most of them civilians. It has vowed to annihilate the Tehran-backed Hamas, which rules Gaza.
But the Israeli retaliatory strikes have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians, a quarter of them children, and driven around half of the 2.3 million Gazans from their homes. Israel has also imposed a total blockade on the enclave, preventing food, fuel and medical supplies from getting in.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that supporting the Palestinians was Iran's foreign policy priority but the militant groups make their own independent decisions.
An AFP report adds: The UN Security Council on Monday rejected a Russian resolution condemning spiraling violence in the Middle East, with delegates refusing to back a motion that did not single out Hamas for its surprise attack on Israel that left at least 1,400 people dead.
The council huddled as Israel readied for an expected ground assault on the Gaza Strip, after air and artillery strikes that officials say have killed at least 2,750 people.
It also came as the White House said President Joe Biden would visit Israel on Wednesday, in a visit that is designed to balance support for a key ally with calls for restraint in its operations in Gaza.
Just four countries voted with Russia on its proposed text. Four others-including the US-voted against, while six abstained.
A second text proposed by Brazil with unequivocal language condeming the Islamist group appeared to have broader support, and was expected to come to the vote on Tuesday evening, diplomats said.
Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said despite the failure, the resolution had spurred the council to action.
"It has contributed to launching a substantive discussion in the Security Council on this topic. Without our encouragement, everything would probably have been limited to empty discussions," he said.
The United Kingdom, which joined the US in voting down the Russian proposal, criticised Moscow's lack of consultation, and accused Russia of not making a serious attempt to find consensus.
Al Jazeera report adds: More than 70 people have been killed in their homes after Israel conducted air raids on Gaza’s Khan Younis, Rafah and Deir el-Balah, according to the besieged Palestinian enclave’s Ministry of Health.
The deaths came overnight on Tuesday, about 10 days after Israel started its retaliation against the deadly attacks on southern Israel by Hamas, the armed group that rules Gaza.
A Reuters report adds: US President Joe Biden will make a high stakes visit to Israel on Wednesday to show support for its war on Hamas, after Washington said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to let humanitarian aid reach besieged Gazans.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that controls Gaza after Hamas gunmen killed 1,300 people, mainly civilians, during a rampage through southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, the deadliest single day in Israel's 75-year history.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip with air strikes that have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians, a quarter of them children, and driven around half of the 2.3 million Gazans from their homes. It has imposed a total blockade on the enclave, halting food, fuel and medical supplies, which are rapidly running out.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it needs urgent access to Gaza to deliver aid and medical supplies, as the U.N. agency warned of a long-term humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. Dr Richard Brennan, regional emergency director of the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional office, said the agency was meeting with "decision-makers" on Tuesday to open access to Gaza as soon as possible.
Earlier, the US military has put 2,000 troops on deployment alert, the Pentagon said Tuesday, in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin placed the personnel and a range of units "on a heightened state of readiness through a prepare to deploy order," the Pentagon said in a statement.