Gaza will become Israel’s graveyard, the speaker of Iran’s parliament was quoted as saying on Sunday after the Jewish state launched a ground offensive deep into the coastal Palestinian territory.

"The Zionists faced the powerful resistance of the zealous Palestinians… the Zionists should know that Gaza will become their graveyard," Mehr News Agency quoted speaker Ali Larijani as telling parliament.

MPs shouted "down with Israel, down with the Zionists," Mehr reported. Larijani’s comments were the first reaction by a senior Iranian figure to Israel’s offensive into Gaza.

Israeli ground forces invaded the Gaza Strip late on Saturday after an eight-day aerial bombing blitz that killed more than 500 Palestinians in a bid to halt rocket and mortar fire from militants inside the enclave.

Iran does not recognize Israel, which has accused Tehran of supplying Hamas with weapons. Iran denies the allegation, saying it provides only moral support to the group.

Larijani said last week that the Israeli regime has pre-planned schemes for the entire region.

“The Israeli authorities are trying to make the regional states compromise with their regime,” he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA.

Larijani further condemned inaction of international bodies and certain countries towards the Israeli crimes against humanity in Gaza.

He noted that the issue of Palestine and Gaza is interrelated with Islam and national interest of all regional countries. He called for vigilance of all Muslim states to bar Israel from carrying out its conspiracy.

Israel’s attacks on Gaza have sparked repeated protests in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran, mainly by students. Iranian officials have condemned what they say is international inaction and bias towards Israel.

(Alarabiya.net and News Agencies)