Speech by Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, on January 3, 2024, on the commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the assassinations of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Source: Al-Manar

Translation: Resistance News

[…] I now come to the third part of my remarks, devoted to Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood”. This operation was launched on October 7 by our brothers from the Izz al-Dine al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’ armed wing), and our brothers from Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions joined them. The causes which led to this operation were recalled by the leaders of our brothers of Hamas, (Islamic) Jihad and other factions of the Resistance, and I myself spoke about it in detail in a previous speech, namely everything concerning the oppression of the Palestinian people for 75 years, the issue of the prisoners oppressed and persecuted in Zionist prisons, the attacks and threats against the Al-Aqsa mosque, the dangers of deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank, the state of continued siege against Gaza and the desire to push for an internal struggle, the ultimate goal of which was, as we now see, the deportation of the inhabitants of Gaza, but via internal struggles and economic and social strangulation. The causes and objectives of the Al-Aqsa Flood were therefore clear and well known.

On October 8, Hezbollah entered battle on the northern border of occupied Palestine, which is the southern border of Lebanon, in a front line more than 100 kilometers long. Then, our brothers from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq also entered the battle by striking the bases of the US occupation in Iraq and Syria, and with direct strikes against the usurping entity with drones, against Eilat and other targets. Then our brothers in Yemen also entered the scene, with drone and missile strikes against the usurping entity, and with the qualitative, huge, grandiose and greatly influential initiative that is the challenge in the Red Sea. In every sense of the word, (banning Israeli and Israel-bound ships to navigate) is truly a courageous, wise, epic and effective action, to the highest degree.

The course of events is well known to you, and therefore I am not going to repeat things that you follow regularly, every day and every hour. What has been happening for 3 months and to this day is on the one hand a scene of sacrifices, martyrs, wounded, houses destroyed, families massively displaced inside Gaza, in the West Bank to a certain extent, and even in the south of Lebanon: it is the scene of the price to pay, of the dangers incurred. But alongside this scene, we have on the other hand the scene of endurance, determination, steadfastness, courage, combat, resistance, challenges, considerable losses inflicted on the enemy, an indomitable character and refusal to surrender. And the first example, the first frontline and the most grandiose is of course Gaza. And the rest of the Axis of Resistance is at its image.

In the light of these two scenes, there are (concrete) results. Sometimes we get lost in such or such detail, but in this section of my speech, I want to step back and look at the situation in general. When we see the scale of the results obtained, their importance and the considerable nature of the accomplishments achieved so far, and when we add to this what can be achieved subsequently, we become fully aware of the fact that this operation was necessary and bore fruit, and we accept more willingly and with satisfaction the scale of the sacrifices made, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Iran and on all terrains and battlefields of (the Axis of) Resistance.

Allow me to quickly and succinctly cite the various achievements already obtained, even if each of them deserves to be devoted to an hour-long presentation, but we will only point them out briefly. And in truth, these are not my own statements, as I have only compiled some of them, and not all, because time does not allow me to mention everything. What I am going to tell you is what the Israelis themselves say, whether they are generals, former or current officials, analysts, experts and strategists from America or the Arab-Muslim world, and certain statements by Imam Khamenei, and many elites in the (Arab-Muslim) Community and in the world.

What I want to show you are some of the results that all this blood and sacrifice has achieved so far, results that will have a great influence on the future of Palestine, of the Palestinian cause, Lebanon and the entire region, but in particular Palestine and Lebanon, and generally for the entire Middle East.

I will list the points one by one quickly.

1/ The return of the Palestinian cause to the forefront and with force, after it had been almost forgotten and erased, which once again imposes the search for a solution everywhere in the world. This is why they come back to talk to us about the two-state solution, etc. Because before the Al-Aqsa Flood, the Palestinian cause was on the verge of being forgotten by everyone, except the Resistance (Axis) movements, with their stances, the annual commemorations of Al-Quds Day, etc.

2/ The failed Israeli calculations which counted on the fatigue of the Palestinians, their despair and the abandonment of their cause. The Al-Aqsa Flood demonstrated that these people, whose Resistance took the initiative to launch this operation, and which was followed by the endurance, determination and sacrifices of all the people of Gaza, all of this demonstrated that this Israeli calculation could not be more erroneous and illusory. The idea that the Palestinians will get tired, abandon their territories and forget their cause, and that the new generation, which is that of the Internet and social networks, will turn the page, is over. It was ended in the West Bank, by the Intifadas and the martyrdom operations, but the Al-Aqsa Flood came to deal it the fatal blow and bury it definitively. Today, Israel has clearly understood that it is facing a people who can never forget his land, his history, his present, his future and his holy places, and Israel’s elites express this with regret. Israel is mortified in the face of this ineradicable people after 75 years, and despite 75 years of repression, torture, imprisonment, deportation, refugee camps, and severe and very difficult living conditions.

3/ The increase in the level of support for the Resistance and the choice of the Resistance within the Palestinian people and the entire Arab-Muslim Community, despite the massacres and the attempts of some people to blame the massacres in Gaza on the victims, on the worthy men, on  the Resistance (Hamas) shamefully deemed responsible of Israel’s actions, and to exonerate the criminal, the bloodthirsty assassin, namely Israel. And it also has a huge influence on the future of the Palestinian cause. After everything that happened in Palestine, they thought that this annihilation of the Gaza Strip, these mass murders and these massacres would make the Palestinians regret having launched the October 7 operation, and that the people of Gaza would abandon the Resistance and turn against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, other factions and fighters, but polls clearly show that the level of support for the Resistance, the Resistance movements and in particular Hamas, which is most blamed in the Al-Aqsa Flood and its consequences, has never been higher in the history of Palestine, the Palestinian people and the Resistance movements in Palestine. This has a considerable influence on the future of this struggle.

4/ The decline of Israel and its image in the eyes of the whole world, despite all the efforts made over the last 20 years by the American and Western media, unfortunately assisted in this by part of the official Arab media which have also worked to beautify the image of Israel, and to present it as a state of law, a democratic state respectful of human rights. With Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and what followed, and what is happening today on all frontlines, Israel’s decline is total, whether in terms of morality, humanity or respect for the rule of law. Today, in the eyes of the whole world, Israel is a murderer of children, a murderer of women, a destroyer of homes, guilty of deportation of populations, expelling them from their homes, their neighborhoods and their land, a starver of peoples, a terrible oppressor and a terrorist for civilians, author of the greatest mass extermination of the century. The image of Israel is broken into a thousand pieces and will not recover. And this will also have a great influence on the conflict and on the equations of struggle in our region.

O my brothers and sisters, recently, polls have been published in the United States, questioning American youth, these American people who do not follow our media, and are fed from birth to death by the American media which are controlled by Zionists or groups that support Zionism. But in the face of the atrocious carnage taking place in Gaza, we see the influence of the blood of children, of women and of the enormous oppression inflicted on Palestinians, and the benefits of social networks, which they designed to destroy Islam, our values and the Resistance, but the spell has turned against the sorcerer, and we see the story of Pharaoh and the sorcerers (defeated by) Moses (and giving allegiance to him) repeating itself again. Faced with the current situation, more than 50% of American youth support not only the idea of granting their rights to the Palestinians, but they support the dismantling of the State of Israel and the attribution of all the (historical) land of Palestine to the Palestinian people. How could such a change have happened (without the Al-Aqsa Flood)? Who could have imagined such an upheaval in US public opinion? Of course, we must continue to act on it and develop it further, and this will have enormous and considerable influences in the United States.

5/ What happened during these 3 months dealt a fatal blow to the path of normalization (of the relations of Arab countries with Israel), which aimed to envelop the Palestinian people (with normalizing countries), to make Israel a normal country and to make us forget Palestine.

6/ It has become clear to the world… In Lebanon, we continually hear this refrain about (the necessary) respect for the international community and international resolutions. The United States regularly lectures us on international resolutions, and will continue to do so, as do the Europeans and the West [reminding us in particular of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 calling for the disarmament of the Lebanese militias, which targets Hezbollah], as well as certain Americanized and Westernized Lebanese, accusing us of being the only ones who don’t respect the resolutions of the international community and international law. The Al-Aqsa Flood has established more clearly than ever before the eyes of the whole world, although it is not something new, the identity of those who truly defy the will of the international community. What is the international community? When all 193 countries in the world, including large, important and powerful countries, demand a complete ceasefire in Gaza, except for only 10 countries, namely the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom and others, and Israel trashes this resolution and couldn’t care less about it, who really respects the will of the international community and the UN resolutions? How many UN resolutions has Israel respected so far? From the first resolution (taken on the subject of occupied Palestine) to this day, until resolution 1701 (voted in 2006), as one of the leaders of a UN body devoted to human rights said, only during the last two months, the usurping entity has trampled on all existing international laws & resolutions. Israel spared nothing. And of course, the United States stands with Israel in brazenly disregarding and confiscating the will of the international community.

7/ If we consider Israel directly, let’s look at the very important results that have been achieved, and in light of which we must develop our stance. Israel’s strategic deterrence was shattered, even as they pinned their hopes on it and worked to restore it. Let us remember all the speeches made before the Al-Aqsa Flood, and all the debate about Israel’s deterrence capacity. The (regular) attacks against Gaza aimed to restore this deterrence. The power of Israel is a power of dissuasion, that is, it frightens and terrorizes neighboring countries and their peoples, in order to keep them at bay, to push them to surrender, to concessions, to submission, to renunciation of their rights and abandonment (of Palestine and other occupied territories). This is the history of Israel, which rests entirely on this deterrent force. It is a power of terror and intimidation, and that is its only strength. This deterrent capacity began to erode in 2000 (with the Liberation of South Lebanon), then again in 2005 (with the Liberation of Gaza), and further with Lebanon’s divine victory in 2006. And after 2006, they declared that they must restore this deterrence capability. But after the Al-Aqsa Flood, whether in Gaza, or after the opening of the front in Lebanon and elsewhere, especially in Yemen, this Israeli deterrence capacity collapsed. Why is it collapsing?

When Hamas and other Resistance factions launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, they were in no way deterred, frightened or terrorized. They knew very well the consequences of their actions, and anticipated Israel’s (murderous) reaction, but the cause deserved this level of initiative, and they were in no way deterred. When the Lebanese Resistance opened a front on October 8, it was in no way deterred, and indeed has never been deterred by Israel in its entire history; and today, Hezbollah is even bolder, and more ready than ever for confrontation and initiative. When Yemen took the initiative (attacking Israeli territory with missile and drone strikes and targeting its economic interests in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea), it was neither frightened nor deterred. Yemen gave no consideration to Israel. And in this regard, even the US deterrence capacity is greatly eroding. The Israeli deterrence capacity was not sufficient, and they called for help the US deterrence capacity, with its aircraft carriers, but even the US deterrence capacity was not enough, neither in the face of the Iraqi Resistance (which strikes US bases in Iraq and Syria and targets in Israel on a daily basis), nor the Lebanese Resistance (which has caused thousands of occupation soldiers to be killed and wounded since October 8), nor the men of God in Yemen (which are ready to enter into open war against the United States and its allies), nor anyone. And that is why American aircraft carriers are starting to leave the region, without having achieved any results. Thus, Israel’s strategic deterrence capacity is eroding, breaking and collapsing.

8/ The end of the (myth of the) superiority of Israeli intelligence. We have always been told, wrongly so, about the omniscience of Israel, its capacity to know everything, but this is not true. The Al-Aqsa Flood clearly demonstrated this.

9/ After the 2006 war, Israel launched the Winograd Commission, investigative committees and numerous studies, and reconsidered many of its strategies and postulates, correcting and amending its flaws, but since I don’t have time to address the subject in detail, I will only recall a sentence that they declared, namely that from now on, if Israel enters the war, it must be done on the basis of a “quick, clear, decisive and unequivocal victory”. This is what Ehud Barak and all the defense ministers and chiefs of staff who came after him said. Well, after 3 months, if we only talk about Gaza, there is no victory in sight, and even less a decisive, rapid, clear and unequivocal victory. Worse still, there is no one within the Zionist entity who claims to see any prospect of victory in Gaza. With their operation last night, they are trying to present an image of victory in the treacherous assassination of Sheikh Salah (al-Arouri in Beirut). But on the battlefield of Gaza, where is the quick, clear, decisive and final victory?

10/ The failure of the air force to achieve victory, even in a narrow area like the Gaza Strip. Of course, this is very important for us in Hezbollah, and for everyone who will think about national defense strategies.

11/ This is the most important and dangerous point (for Israel) regarding the results of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and everything that is happening in the adjacent axes and battlefields: the absence of trust of the people of the Zionist entity in the Israeli army, security services and political leaders. This goes to the heart, the very foundations of Israel’s existence and perpetuation. Today there are people who… I don’t want to use inappropriate terms, but I hope that their capacity of understanding will understand this idea. When some people hear Hamas, our brothers in Islamic Jihad or other leaders of the Palestinian Resistance factions declare that the Al-Aqsa Flood truly lays the foundation for the demise of the State of Israel and places this entity on the road to extinction, they laugh and mock these predictions, because they lack lucidity. But fundamentally, and I will read you a text which shows this, if Israel loses security, it cannot survive. Its people, its inhabitants will not stay there, because their link with the land is a false, artificial, hypocritical link, which has absolutely no authentic basis. You all know that in the original project of the Zionist movement, at the time of (Theodore) Herzl, 4 countries were envisaged to bring together the Jews: Argentina, Uganda, a European country and Palestine, which was just one choice among others. It was the British who brought them to Palestine.

In all the countries of the region, which are authentic countries, when for example a civil war breaks out in Lebanon for 30 years, Lebanon and the Lebanese people remain. When disaster and world war strike Syria, Syria and the Syrian people remain. When Iraq suffers siege and wars, Iraq and its people remain. The same goes for Yemen and other countries. But when it comes to Israel, things are very different. Israel is an artificial entity. Israel is a patchwork people, made from scratch out of people gathered from all corners of the world. Every Israeli has a dual nationality, and their suitcases are always ready (to flee Palestine in case of danger). The Israeli connection with the lands of Palestine is based on security, and on the idea that it is “the land flowing with milk and honey” (Torah). When the milk and honey stop flowing and they lose security, it’s over! Why did I talk about a liberation of Palestine in stages? The scene that we can already glimpse for the future of Israel is these Zionists who pack up and leave, via airports, ports, borders, crossing points. This is the scene that will (inevitably) happen.

Al-Aqsa Flood powerfully laid, or completed, the foundations of this scene. Do you want proof? Alright. I will read to you a statement from the current Israeli Minister of War, [Yoav] Galant. Many Israelis say the same thing, but I will relate his words to you. He declared: “Without the achievement of the announced objectives of the war…”, namely the liquidation of Hamas, the release of prisoners alive and without negotiation, these are the announced objectives, and security, political or administrative control over the strip of Gaza, which is one of the unannounced objectives, “Without the achievement of the announced objectives of the war, we will be in a situation where the problem will be that the (Israeli) citizens will not be willing to live…” not only around Gaza, not just in the North, on the border with Lebanon. Galant says the problem will not only be those displaced from the area around Gaza, and the border with Lebanon, but that “(Israeli) citizens will not be willing to live in this country.” Why is that? “Because we don’t know how to protect them.” What does that mean ? He states that if Israel does not achieve the aims of the war, they will have lost the fundamental pillar on which the survival of the State of Israel rests. And I declare to him that with the grace of God, you will not be able to achieve the objectives of the war. You will not be able to achieve the objectives of the war.

The Al-Aqsa Flood also ended the myth of Palestine as the world’s only safe haven for Jews. The conception of Zionism is that Jews were not safe anywhere in the world except in occupied Palestine, in the Israeli entity. The Al-Aqsa Flood and what is happening on all fronts, yes, what is happening on all fronts, even though the main battlefield is Gaza, what is happening in Gaza first and foremost, and also in the West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the region has shaken this foundation, and will collapse the concept and idea of safe haven on which the emigration of millions of Jews (to Palestine) was based. And the reverse migration began. Reverse migration has already begun. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have left occupied Palestine (since October 7), most of them elites, wealthy people, etc.

12/ The image of Israel’s power has been shattered. This Israel which presents itself to such or such Arab country that I will not name, promising that it will protect and defend them, will send them its air force and its Iron Dome, that it represents security, infallible intelligence services and advanced technologies, this image of a powerful and capable Israel has collapsed. And Israel is now in a position of needing to be defended. So imagine what Israel’s situation would be if the Americans and their aircraft carriers had not come to the Mediterranean. Israel needed such intervention from the United States from the very first days.

13/ The extent of direct losses at more than one level, to an unprecedented degree (in the history of the Zionist entity). Human losses, killed, injured and disabled: the figures communicated by Israel are much lower than reality. On our Lebanese front, in the north of occupied Palestine, Israel does not recognize any killed or wounded, but they number in the thousands. I will talk about it in detail in my speech scheduled for this Friday (January 5), with the grace of God. The (very large) number of vehicles and tanks whose destruction is announced every day (by the Resistance factions), the psychological situation…

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reports that as a result of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and its aftermath, so far, 300,000 new people have requested psychiatric care. 300,000 people requested psychiatric care! Will they stay here (in occupied Palestine)? That’s very unlikely! There are dangers, fear, worry, there is no security, and a difficult psychological situation. Do you want to live in peace? Let those who have a US passport return to the United States, let the British return to Great Britain, the French to France, etc. This is the only future available to you, O Israelis. And the land of Palestine, from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea, belongs only and exclusively to the noble, fighting, enduring and patient Palestinian people, and to no one else!

Israel therefore has a (very worrying) psychological situation, reverse migration, hundreds of thousands of displaced people, even if they conceal the real figures. A few days ago they declared that in the north (on the Lebanese border) there were only 60 to 70,000 displaced people, in order to diminish the importance of this front, but Netanyahu made a slip of the tongue one day and said there were 100,000. And a few days ago, a US newspaper reported Israeli officials saying there were 230,000 displaced people in the north of occupied Palestine. All these displaced people represent a burden for the enemy government (which had to rehouse them, provide for their needs, etc.). Not to mention the economy, which has been slowing down or even is at a standstill for 3 months: there is no tourism, no agriculture, no industry. And what is Israel without an economy? The cost amounts to tens of billions of dollars, and US aid will not succeed in filling this financial gap. Of course, in this regard, the action of our brothers in Yemen in the Red Sea has a huge influence on the Israeli economy.

14/ The Israeli’s unability and failure to achieve even the slightest of its objectives. Israel has not achieved the slightest of its (military) objectives (announced in Gaza). Do not imagine that if today the United States is asking Israel to withdraw from the cities (of Gaza), it is out of fear for (the lives of) the Palestinians: it is for the Israelis that they fear! It is possible that our brothers in the Palestinian Resistance ardently wish that the Israeli (soldiers) remain where they are, in the cities, to continue to eliminate them morning and evening, by the destruction of their tanks and vehicles, sniper operations, direct targeting, etc. Israel has not achieved any goals. They were unable to free any prisoners alive. They have not been able until now, and will never be able to impose their political will on the Gaza Strip, nor on the future form of the administration of Gaza.

15/ Another very important result obtained which will accelerate the death of this entity is the (unprecedented) scale of internal divisions. Just wait until the war stops. All (Israeli political and military leaders) without exception, even within the same party, hold a dagger hidden behind their back, and as soon as the war ends, and the questions, demands, commissions of inquiry and trials begin, we will see which Israel will emerge from the Al-Aqsa Flood (they are united today because it is wartime, but as soon as it is over, everyone will tear each other apart).

16/ The fact that the United States has been unmasked in the eyes of the whole world. After the neo-conservatives and the atrocious massacres perpetrated (by the Bush administration) in Afghanistan and Iraq, they gave us Obama, a Black man whose father was called Hussein, with African and Muslim roots, and whatnot. They have thus worked to restore their image in the Arab-Muslim world. And this deception worked to a certain extent. Then came the sedition of the Arab Spring, the sedition of ISIS – it was the Americans who created ISIS and they then presented themselves as the protectors of the Iraqi people against ISIS – and therefore tried to improve their image. One of the most important results of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is that it shattered the image of the United States, exposing it to its most abject realities. The most abject realities of the United States have been revealed (to the whole world, and to the Arab-Muslim world in particular). Because today, those who kill in Gaza are the United States, US decisions, US policies, US missiles and US shells. Those who are preventing the end of the war against Gaza are the United States.

Those who veto the UN Security Council are the United States. And the brazenness of the United States has reached the point where its spokespersons claim that Israel does not deliberately target civilians. 22,000 civilian martyrs, the vast majority of them women and children, but Israel does not deliberately target civilians, this is a mistake my dear friends, it is only “collateral damage”. Israel does not deliberately kill civilians or journalists. It clearly appears that it is the United States which is outside the international community, international law, international resolutions, human rights and humanist and humanitarian values (and which opposes them and constantly flout).

17/ And the last point that I submit to you before arriving at the last part of my speech, which will not be long, is that in what is happening in Gaza, there is a lesson for all of us: it is clearly established that international institutions, international organizations, the international community and international law are incapable of protecting any people whatsoever. They are incapable of protecting anyone. Remember this lesson, O Lebanese! There are still people in our country who, until today, despite 22,000 martyrs in Gaza, nearly 60,000 wounded, (despite this mass massacre which is taking place) under the helpless eyes of the international community, there are still those in Lebanon who tell Hezbollah to disarm, because the international community and international resolutions would be enough to protect Lebanon (in the event of an Israeli aggression). I’m sorry to say it, but it’s no longer a question of divergent points of view, where everyone has their own perspective and everyone’s opinions should be respected. Not at all. These people are blindly stubborn. The hearts, eyes and lucidity (of these people) are completely blind. “Truly it is not their eyes that are blind but their hearts which are in their breasts. » (Quran, 22, 46) Is this not the undeniable truth today?

What does this experience teach us? And here I enter the last part of my remarks. This experience teaches that if we are weak, the world will not give us any credit, will not protect us, will not defend us and will not even shed a tear over our fate! Even tears, we will be deprived of them! What protects us is our strength, our courage, our grip, our weapons, our missiles and our presence on the battlefield! If we are strong, we can make the world respect us! Despite the severe blockade strangling Gaza, despite the enormous oppression inflicted on Gaza, if Gaza had fallen in the first days, everything would be over, and no one in the world would have mourned it. It is the enormous moral force, and the limited material force of the Gaza Resistance, of the people of Gaza, of the men, women and children of Gaza, which are a form of force, which were able to impose themselves on the world. This is why the whole world is changing its mind, reconsidering things, looking for solutions. Why? Because there is a show of strength in Gaza, despite the unspeakable oppression (suffered by its people).

All these results, which are only some of the achievements of the Al-Aqsa Flood, for there are still many others, and still others to come, I assure you that what happened since October 7 until today, and what will happen subsequently, has weakened Israel, shaken the whole entity, and shaken its very foundations and pillars. And yes, as our Palestinian brothers rightly say, all this has placed Israel on the path to annihilation, and all of us will witness with our own eyes the disappearance of the usurping entity, with the grace of God! And (when it happens), no one will be able to protect it. No one will be able to defend it. As for the Arab thrones (normalizing countries and allies of Israel), let them start by protecting themselves (because they are also shaking). […]

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