Israel committing genocide in Gaza, says Iranian leader

Tehran, July 29 (IANS) Israel has committed "genocide" in Gaza Strip, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday.

"What Israeli authorities are doing in Gaza today is a genocide and a big historical disaster," Khamenei said when addressing a huge crowd gathered to mark the festival of Eid al-Fitr at the end of Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"The first and foremost issue of the Islamic world and, perhaps, humanity today is Gaza," Xinhua quoted Khamenei as saying.

"A rabid dog and a rapacious wolf have attacked the oppressed people and the world should react to this," Khamenei said.

Khamenei rejected calls for disarming the Islamic militants in Gaza, saying that "the US president has issued a fatwa (decree) that the resistance should be disarmed so that the militants cannot respond to the Israel offensive in Gaza".

"The Islamic states and the West should help supply the Palestinian people with arms," Khamenei added.

Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza July 8, Palestinian deaths have soared to 1,074 with at least 6,500 wounded, the Gaza health ministry said.

According to the Israeli army, at least 43 Israeli soldiers have been killed in operations, while three civilians were killed during rocket attacks on Israel.