BAGHDAD: Iraq’s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani warned on Saturday of the risk of a regional escalation with potentially “catastrophic consequences” following the killing of two Iran-backed leaders.

Sistani also urged an end to the “genocidal war” in Gaza, where the civil defence agency said an Israeli air strike on Saturday on a school housing displaced Palesti­nians killed more than 90 people.

“Once again, the Israeli occupation army has committed a huge massacre […] adding to its series of ongoing crimes” in Gaza, Sistani said in a rare statement since the start of the 10-month-old conflict.

The recent high-profile killings of two leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah increased the danger of “major clashes” that could have “catastrophic consequences” for the region, he warned.

“We once again call on the world to stand against this terrible brutality,” Sistani said, urging Mus­lims “to unite in order to press for an end to the genocidal war” in Gaza.

On July 31, Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack, blamed on Israel, in the Iranian capital.

It came hours after Israel killed Hezbollah senior military commander Fuad Shukr in a strike on the Lebanese group’s stronghold in south Beirut.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2024