Al-Azhar Al-Sharif issued a new statement Monday on the ongoing violence taking place in Israel and Gaza as the death toll continues to rise.
The following is the full text of the statement:
A kind and blessed greeting to the Palestinian resistance, and the innocent people of G a z a who represent a symbol of honor and steadfastness, especially the children and enduring women there. A blessed greeting to you, heroes, as you face with your emaciated bodies and bare chests such savage fire by a terrorist army stripped of any sense of mercy, morality, or humanity. They have brazenly committed countless brutal crimes, including bombing hospitals; destroying mosques and churches; and killing children, women, media reporters, and helpless innocent citizens.
Greetings to you, heroes, as you, in unswerving faith, are confronting battleships, aircraft carriers, and missile launchers, drawing on your belief in Allah and showing no fear or humility in the face of your enemies.
O Heroes, derive strength from the noble Quran, and seek help through the Word of Allah Almighty that reads, “So do not feel weak and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are true believers.”
Al-Azhar registers in great pride and appreciation the noble and valorous stance of Mr. António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, as he fearlessly and forthrightly calls for the necessity of stopping the aggression against the weak and oppressed people in G a z a. Salute to you, brave man, as you shout out the word of truth and justice.
Al-Azhar also salutes all the free people of the world who have not remained silent, who come out to condemn the brutal massacres committed in G a z a, and who demand an end to the Zionist aggression and to the killing of children and innocent civilians.
Al-Azhar calls on the governments of Arab and Muslim countries to immediately extend a helping hand to their brothers and sisters in P a l e s t i n e, and to harness their capabilities, resources, and power to support them and to stop the oppression exercised against them by this Zionist usurping entity.