TEHRAN, Jan. 07 (MNA) – The commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says that the Israeli regime is trying to reduce its defeat by assassinating Resistance leaders.

In a message to Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani extended condolences over the martyrdom of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri by the Israeli regime.

The enemy and the Zionists want to reduce their heavy defeat in Gaza and the West Bank by assassinating the Resistance leaders, he stressed.

He also praised the role of the martyred Hamas member in defending Palestine.

Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh on Tuesday. He was a senior official in Hamas’s politburo and was known to be deeply involved in its military affairs. He had previously headed the group’s presence in the occupied West Bank.

MP/TSN3018778