TEHRAN - The Zionist regime has launched a series of massive military offensives in the Gaza Strip over the past few days in retaliation for the June 25 abduction of an Israeli soldier during a Palestinian attack on the Israel-Gaza border.

The Mehr News Agency spoke to some MPs and political analysts on Saturday to learn their views on the matter.

Political analyst Sadeq Zibakalam said the Zionist regime is seeking to get Hamas under control and to send a threatening message to Hamas supporters like Iran and Syria through its recent brutal attacks against the Gaza Strip.

It also wants to widen the rift between Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and Hamas, he added.

Zibakalam stated that freeing the soldier is not Israel’s main goal.

“Israel wants to show the Palestinians and Hamas that if they insist on their stance of not recognizing the Zionist regime and move toward radicalism, they will conduct tit-for-tat measures,” he added.

Hossein Shariatmadari, the managing director of the Tehran daily Kayhan, said the attacks show that the Israelis fear the mounting resistance among Palestinians.

“Hamas was strongly supported when it did not recognize Israel’s right to exist and continued armed resistance, which was a heavy blow to the Zionist regime, the United States, and their allies,” he noted.

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi said what is happening in Gaza egregiously flouts international standards and human rights and urged the United Nations to take appropriate action.

“Human rights activists should respond appropriately to violations of human rights throughout the world,” she added. “Investigations into human rights violations should not be regarded as interference in the internal affairs of countries.”

She also asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to force Israel to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories and release all detained Palestinians.

Political analyst Ramin Sahebnazar said the attacks were launched due to the failure of the Israelis to create division between Palestinian forces.

“When they failed to create rifts among Palestinians, they resorted to military aggression,” he added.

He called upon the media outlets of Islamic states to make efforts to cover the Palestine issue more efficiently since it is the first issue of the Islamic world at this point in time.

MP Eshrat Shayeq, who represents Tabriz in the parliament, said that the occupying regime sought to put on a show of force by launching the attacks, but it is obvious that the regime is breaking apart from within.

She urged international organizations like the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to pressure the UN to prevent Israel from committing such atrocities. Iran, as a Muslim country, should not be content with denouncing the crimes, she added, saying, “There needs to be a collective and global campaign to confront such crimes. The Islamic Republic of Iran should take the lead in such a campaign.”

MP Mehdi Kuchakzadeh described the cruel attacks on the Gaza Strip as a degradation of humanity shedding the blood of Islam.