Iran strongly condemned the Israeli apartheid regime's brutal attack on Gaza and the killing of defenseless people and a high-ranking leader of the Islamic Jihad movement.

It is the legitimate right of the Palestinian people and resistance groups to act and defend themselves in the face of the aggression and terrorist actions of the Zionist regime, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said, Mehr reports.

He added that the Israeli regime's new wave of airstrikes against the beleaguered Palestinian enclave was a criminal, adventurous and provocative move.

Kanani called on all countries and international organizations to fulfill their legal, moral and human obligations to protect the oppressed Palestinian people and condemn Israel's terrorist actions. He noted that they must take measures to stop the continuation of such crimes by Israel, which is a major factor in instability and insecurity in the region.

According to Interfax, the Israeli military reported about 80 rockets launched by militants of the Islamic Jihad group from the Gaza Strip on Friday evening.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, more than 30 rockets did not reach Israeli territory and crashed in the Gaza Strip shortly after launch. Another 33 shells were shot down using the Iron Dome missile defense system. The remaining 13 rockets exploded in Israeli territory, but there were no reports of casualties.

On Friday, the Israeli army launched Operation Dawn against Palestinian radical groups from the Gaza Strip. It is planned to mobilize up to 25,000 reservists for this operation.

There were also earlier reports of the death as a result of an Israeli strike of one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad. Regional media, citing sources, in turn, stated that at least 15 people died as a result of these actions.