Tasnim � Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi strongly condemned the Israeli regime's terrorist attack on the Gaza Strip and the assassination of an Islamic Jihad commander.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, Mousavi deplored the Israeli attack on Gaza and stressed the need to prosecute and punish the Zionist occupiers in international courts as war criminals.

He further praised the legitimate struggle and �heroic resistance� of the Palestinian people and described unity as the only option for the Palestinian people to fight the usurpers.

Deploring the silence and inaction of international organizations and communities on the Zionist regime's aggression and terrorist acts, Mousavi said, �Unfortunately, in light of support for this ruthless and child-killing regime, the crimes against and assassinations of Palestinian people and fighters have continued inside and outside the occupied territories.�

The spokesman called on regional and international organizations and communities to fulfil their human and legal responsibility to stop the terrorist acts of the occupiers and protect the defenseless and oppressed people of Palestine.

In a statement, Al-Quds Brigades confirmed the death of its commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, 42, in an Israeli aerial assault on his Gaza home early on Tuesday, adding that the group was on �maximum alert.�

It further said Ata�s wife had also been killed during the Israeli air raid.

Separately, the Hamas resistance movement said Israel �bears full responsibility for all consequences of this escalation� and pledged that al-Ata�s death �will not go unpunished.�

Shortly after the Israeli strike, Palestinians launched a salvo of rockets into the occupied territories, setting off sirens in Tel Aviv, Sderot and Ashdod.

The assassination is likely to fuel tensions between Tel Aviv and Gaza, which has been under a crippling siege by Israel since 2007 and witnessed three wars since 2008.

Gaza has also witnessed deadly tensions since March 30, 2018 which marked the start of the Great March of Return protests, with participants demanding the right to return for the Palestinians driven out of their homeland.