Palestinians dig out the body of a child from the rubble of a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, amid relentless Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory.  (Photo by AFP)

Gaza City, September 27 (RHC)-- Iran has denounced Washington's latest military aid package to Israel, saying it is simply a “reward” to the regime employed by the United States to kill innocent people in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani made the remarks on Friday, a day after Israel’s war ministry said it had secured an $8.7 billion aid package from Washington to support its ongoing military offensives across the region.

“These sums are nothing but an employer’s reward for killers and murderers,” he said in an X post. 

Speaking on Thursday, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Washington has not changed and will not change its commitment to help Israel “protect” itself. 

Kan’ani said, “It is shameful that the U.S. regards the killing of about 42,000 people in 11 months in Palestine and more than 1,500 people in four days in Lebanon as self-defense.”

“The world has no doubt that the U.S. regime is a first-degree partner in the war crimes of the Israeli regime in the genocide of Palestinians and the ongoing atrocities against the Lebanese nation,” he added.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war against Gaza, which has so far killed 41,534 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 96,092 others.

Over the same period, the Tel Aviv regime has conducted aerial assaults across Lebanon in violation of the country’s sovereignty, killing 1,540 people and wounding 5,410 others.

On Monday, the occupation’s military escalated its bloody bombing campaign on Lebanon and announced that it is considering a ground invasion.