Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with senior Hamas officials in Tehran, praising what he described as the “exceptional resistance demonstrated by the Palestinian Resistance forces” against “the crimes and brutalities committed by the Zionist regime [ie, Israel], with full support from the West”. He further asserted that “Iran will not hesitate to support the cause of Palestine and the oppressed and resistant people of Gaza”. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described the meeting as “the clearest sign that there is a war going on between the free world and the axis which promotes terror”. On 28 March, Khamenei met with a senior official from Palestinian Islamic Jihad.