(MENAFN) Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, issued a forceful condemnation on Friday following Israel’s announcement that its Security Cabinet approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City.

In an official statement released hours after the decision, Baghaei denounced the military occupation strategy and the forced displacement of Gaza’s residents, calling it “a plot to complete the genocide against the Palestinian nation.”

Describing Israeli leadership as “criminal,” Baghaei emphasized that the threat to fully occupy Gaza serves as “proof of Israel's specific intent to carry out ethnic cleansing in Gaza and genocide against Palestinians,” urging that these actions be scrutinized by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

Baghaei underscored the legal and ethical duty of every government and the United Nations to halt the "genocide and heinous crimes that are being perpetrated in the occupied Palestinian territories," while condemning the United States and some Western nations for their ongoing complicity in Israel's "crimes."

Concluding his statement, Baghaei called for an immediate end to the Gaza catastrophe and urged Muslim nations to unite in support of the Palestinian people.

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