Iran says Israel doesn't want permanent Gaza truce: ‘Seek tangible victory not…’

Israel-Hamas War: The ceasefire began on Friday under which dozens of hostages were freed by Hamas.

Iran called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza to stop Israel's "crimes" in the territory after the truce between Israel and Hamas entered its final day. Hamas said that it is willing to extend the four-day pause and free more hostages. The ceasefire began on Friday under which dozens of hostages were freed by Hamas while over 100 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel in return.

Israel-Hamas War: Palestinians walk among the rubble, as they inspect houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Hamas and Israe. (Reuters)

Nasser Kanani, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, said, “As the Islamic Republic of Iran, we want and expect... that the crimes of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people will be stopped completely.”

Iran is "following" the extension of the truce “with the regional party active in this field, the state of Qatar”, he said while Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was on a visit to Doha.

"One of the main goals of the ongoing negotiations and efforts is to ensure that the existing temporary ceasefire takes a stable form and that the cruel aggression of the Zionist regime (Israel) against Gaza is not repeated," he said, adding, “Tt seems that the Zionist regime after not being able to achieve its objectives after the offensive on Gaza wants to obtain a tangible victory”.

Iran has labelled Israel's campaign in Gaza as a genocide as it denies any direct involvement in Hamas' attack on Israel. Hamas poured across the Israeli border on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. In response, Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas, killing nearly 15,000 people, mostly civilians and including thousands of children.

EU's top foreign policy official Josep Borrell also called for an extension of the truce in the Gaza Strip as it entered its final 24 hours.

"The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long lasting while working for a political solution," he said, calling for a "political solution that should allow us to break the cycle of violence once and for all".

"Nothing can justify the indiscriminate brutality Hamas unleashed against civilians on seven of October. But one horror cannot justify another horror," he said.