DUBAI, December 26. /TASS/. Israel’s assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military advisor Razi Musawi in Syria is a gross violation of Syria’s sovereignty, the Hamas movement said.

"The murder of General Razi Musawi, carried out by the Zionist occupation force on Syrian territory is a cowardly crime and constitutes a gross violation of sovereignty of the Arab nation, […] that goes beyond all international norms and threatens the security and stability in the region," the movement said on its Telegram channel. The movement stated that it "praises the role of the brotherly Iranian people in supporting the Palestinian resistance" and expressed the condolences to the IRGC over the general’s demise.

On December 25, Tasnim reported that IRGC General Razi Musawi died in an Israeli airstrike in the Shia town of Sayyida Zaynab south of Damascus. Three missiles were fired at the house where he stayed.

Musawi coordinated the actions of Shia militias fighting on the Syrian government forces’ side. He commanded operation against the Islamic State terror group [outlawed in Russia] in the Syrian Desert and took part in fights in Eastern Ghouta and in western Aleppo. According to Al Mayadeen, he survived several assassination attempts.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas has cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.