Iraq's top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on Wednesday, 12 October, called on the world to stand up to Israel's "terrible brutality" on the Gaza Strip, adding that only ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine will lead to an everlasting peace.
"The Gaza Strip is currently enduring continuous shelling and intense attacks of unprecedented scale, resulting in the loss of over six thousand innocent civilians, both martyrs and wounded, and leading to the displacement of a significant number of people from their homes. The attacks have also caused extensive destruction of residential areas, leaving no safe haven for the people," al-Sistani's office said in a statement as Israel's fierce bombardment on the civilians besieged in Palestine's Gaza Strip continued for the sixth day following Hamas's surprise weekend attack in the 1948 territories.