The office of Iraq's top religious authority, Sayyed Ali al-Sistani, expressed profound solidarity with the people of Lebanon, extending heartfelt condolences for their immense suffering in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression, which has claimed nearly 200 lives and left more than 700 wounded.

The statement said that the religious authority was "praying to the Almighty God to protect and care for them, and to ward off the harm of evildoers and the schemes of the wicked, during "these difficult days that the noble Lebanese people are going through."

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It also stated that the Lebanese are increasingly being subjected to Israeli aggression "with brutal methods," including the explosion of a large number of "personal communication (pagers and two-way radios) devices and the like," and the targeting of densely populated residential areas, even those housing women and children."

Sayyed al-Sistani's office noted that the Israeli occupation has carried out intense airstrikes on dozens of villages and towns in the south and the Bekaa, "which so far has led to the martyrdom and injury of many heroic resistance fighters and other innocent civilians, and has displaced tens of thousands from their homes."

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It hoped for the Lebanese martyrs "to be granted [God's] mercy... and for the wounded and injured to be granted a swift recovery."

Concluding the statement, the Iraqi religious authority urged for "every possible effort" to stop the Israeli aggression and protect the Lebanese people from its devastating effects and called for action to "help alleviate their suffering and ensure their humanitarian needs are met."