Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali KhameneiWANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed on Tuesday that Gaza had "brought Israel to its knees," referring to the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

"The small, limited Gaza brought the Zionist regime, armed to the teeth and fully supported by America, to its knees," Khamenei remarked during a meeting with officials in Tehran, as quoted by the AFP news agency.

Before the ceasefire came into effect, Khamenei hailed it as a defeat for Israel.

"It will be written in books that there was a mob who once killed thousands of children and women in Gaza," Khamenei wrote in a post on social media site X earlier this month.

He attributed the ceasefire to "the patience of the people and the steadfastness of Palestinian resistance and the Resistance Front."

Iran has long been known to be one of the main benefactors of Hamas and has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the group and its leaders.

Khamenei lauded Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel but denied any Iranian involvement in it.

Khamenei’s denial followed a Wall Street Journal report which claimed that Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas' attack and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut.