The Syrian leader has received Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his accompanying delegation in Damascus.
"President Bashar al-Assad said that the Zionist entity’s bombardment on civilians in Gaza in such unprecedented bloody and brutal way is an indication to its failure to achieve its military targets," Assad's office said in a statement.
Assad added that Israel would not be able to defeat the people and society in the Gaza Strip, according to the statement.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 33,100 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
On November 24, 2023, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and hostages taken by Hamas, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1, 2023. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.