BEIRUT – Throughout his honorable and tireless life, Major General Qassem Soleimani supported Palestine, its people, cause and resistance in every possible way, especially from the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 until his assassination in 2020.
“Martyr Soleimani sacrificed himself for Palestine and its people, so he is the ‘martyr of Quds,'” admitted Hamas leader Ismail Haniya. He repeated the title “martyr of al-Quds” three times.
After being appointed commander of the Quds Force, Soleimani became familiar with most of the Palestinian resistance movements.
This relationship strengthened over the years until Soleimani joined the joint operations room between Hamas and Islamic Jihad during the 2008 invasion of Israel.
“In 2017, Major General Soleimani contacted the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades, stating that Iran, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Al-Quds Forces will all support our people with everything they have. We have confirmed that Al-Quds remains the capital of the Palestinian state. He made it clear that we would use all our abilities and possibilities at our disposal to protect Al-Quds. Soleimani did not stipulate or demand anything in return,” declared Martyr Yahya al-Sinwar, who met Soleimani in Tehran.
General Soleimani told Martyr Al-Shinwar: “I love Palestine. I love al-Quds. I love everything that strengthens the solidity of the Palestinian people.”
Despite the comprehensive siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, Soleimani was determined to train resistance forces in how to build long-range missiles.
Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziad Al Nahra said:
“Martyr Soleimani directly supervised and managed the missile smuggling procedure. He visited several countries and persuaded them to approve this procedure. He visited Sudan and spoke with the relevant parties to facilitate it. “The delivery of the missiles was complex and almost miraculous, as reaching Gaza required crossing a vast geographical area by land and sea,” al-Nahra admitted.
In this regard, Al-Nahra said: “All classical weapons and long-range missiles reached Gaza through the martyr Qasem Soleimani. In 2012, despite the war, we acquired the Cornet missile.”
Abu Hamza, spokesman for the al-Quds Brigades, said that martyr Soleimani “oversaw Iran’s direct support to Palestine and the transfer of military and security expertise to the Mujahideen for two decades.” .
Khaled al-Qadoumi, head of Hamas in Iran, said General Soleimani was a “prominent figure at the military and political level, not only because of his firm beliefs, but also because he supported the Palestinian resistance in various aspects.” But it was,” he said. One of his most important contributions to the Palestinian resistance movement, in addition to arms transfers, was to strengthen the resistance in the military field. ”
Hamas’ representative in Lebanon, Ahmed Abdulhadi, said Soleimani clearly helped enable the Palestinian resistance to dig a network of tunnels.
“The idea of the tunnel was basically proposed by two people, Martyr Commander Imad Mughniyeh and Martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani,” Abdulhadi said, adding, “Marty Soleimani was asked to participate in defense planning. “I visited Gaza multiple times in the past,” he added.
Mansour Haqiqatpour, a former aide to Soleimani, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the Gaza tunnels were a nightmare for the occupation regime, as Soleimani had already considered various contingency scenarios and potential challenges. He admitted that it will continue to exist.
Haqiqatpour revealed that Soleimani, in cooperation with Gaza’s resistance forces, planned to dig a tunnel covering an area of 400 km2 under an area of about 40 km2.
On January 1, 2024, Osama Hamdan, a prominent leader of Hamas, further reiterated “the specific role of Martyr Soleimani in the ongoing fighting (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood).”
Islamic Revolution leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei has often emphasized Soleimani’s unwavering pro-Palestinian efforts, based on multiple testimonies he has repeatedly received from leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement.
The leader stressed that General Soleimani “provided the Palestinian people with all their military needs and did everything that would help a very small area like the Gaza Strip confront the Zionist entity.” Thanks to Hajj Qassem Soleimani’s actions, disaster befell the Zionists and they – after only 48 hours – called for a ceasefire. ”