So spoke Abu Obeida and Nasrallah
The speeches of the spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades and of the Hezbollah leader.
Yesterday, Friday 16 February 2024, while Alexei Navalny’s death took the limelight away from the collapse of the Ukrainians in Avdeevka, Abu Obeida, the spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades, released a voice recording, in which he talked about the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Al Mayadeen wrote a report in this article, but here I will summarize the main points, as reported in the live Short News yesterday:
Al-Aqsa flood Operation did change and will change the face of the region, as it marked the beginning of the end of the longest occupation in modern history.
The Al-Aqsa Flood will not subside, as it is crystallizing by the day to remove injustice and aggression from Al-Aqsa, and it will be a turning point in our nation's history.
For the 5th month, the resistance in Gaza has been facing a Zionist-American war that is still powerless in the face of a people facing massacres but who refuse to be broken.
Following the killing of civilians by Israel Defence Forces in southern Lebanon in the last few days, Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, released a speech too yesterday. It was also reported by Al Mayadeen here, but again I will summarize the main points, as reported in the live Short News yesterday (all emphasis mine):
The sacrifices made by Resistance movements are not born out of a reaction or a temporary response, they are born out of a social awareness, a vision, and a knowledge of end goals.
The aggression on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh are a development that we must stop at in the ongoing confrontation because it targeted civilians.
What happened in Nabtieh and al-Sawaneh was intentional because the enemy could have avoided killing civilians in the manner it did.
The enemy will pay with blood for its shedding of our women and children's blood in Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh.
We are at the heart of a battle that spans over a 100 km, and the martyrdom of Resistance fighters is part of this battle.
Civilians are a sensitive issue, and the enemy must understand that it has gone too far if it gets to killing our civilians.
The goal of killing civilians is to pressure the Resistance to make it halt its operations because all the pressures exerted since October 7 had the goal of shutting down the southern front.
The response to the massacre in southern Lebanon must be an escalation in jihadist work on the battle front.
Bombing "Kiryat Shmona" with dozens of Katyusha rockets and several Falaq missiles is a preliminary response.
The enemy will pay with blood for the killing of civilians, and not only its military sites will be struck in response.
The Resistance in Lebanon has a massive missile power that extends from "Kiryat Shmona" to "Eilat".
The cost of capitulation is great and and devastating and even existential.
Capitulation means subservience and humiliation, and it will allow for the undermining of our elders, our youth, our women, and our property.
The Resistance made the enemy go through an existential crisis whose climax was Operation al-Aqsa Flood.
Is it not humiliating and weakness that entire states ruling over 2 billion Muslims are unable to administer medicine and food to the people of Gaza?
If an investigation is opened into October 7, the basis for the moral and legal pretexts Netanyahu and Biden are using for their goal of destroying Hamas will collapse.
Many people have fallen for the historic Israeli false narrative regarding October 7, including countries that claim to be allied with Hamas.
The Palestinian Resistance has been subjected since October 7 to the worst humiliation and fraud campaigns any Resistance movement has been subjected to in our contemporary history.
The worst phenomenon of hypocrisy seen by the world today is the stance of the US administration regarding what is going on in Gaza.
If the United States stops arming "Israel", the war on Gaza will stop whether Netanyahu wills it or not.
The United States is more insistent than "Israel" on the destruction of Hamas.
The United States is behind every drop of blood in the region, and Israeli officials are mere tools used in this bloodshed.
Operation al-Aqsa Flood revealed that the Israeli goal has been to expel Palestinians and establish a purely Jewish state.
The goal of the siege on Gaza was to kill all of Gaza silently while the world stands idle.
The goal of the Israeli occupation is to expel all the people of the West Bank to Jordan, the people of Gaza to Egypt, and the people of the occupied Palestinian territories to Lebanon.
It is our responsibility to prevent the displacement of Palestinians, which requires a major confrontation.
The United States is preventing the Lebanese Army from having adequate arms and missiles for defending Lebanon and deterring any aggression on it.
The Resistance in Lebanon and Palestine broke Israeli deterrence and destroyed its image while shifting the balance of power by establishing a deterrent.
No matter how much we praise it, we will not be able to describe the legendary Resistance in Gaza and the historic resilience of the people of Gaza.
The Israelis and Americans did not think that the Resistance in Lebanon would have the bravery or the will to launch a front in support of Gaza.
Our goal in the Axis of Resistance as peoples, states, and Resistance fighters was and will remain the defeat of the enemy.
What we mean by saying the enemy's defeat is foiling its plans.
The goal of the Axis of Resistance is inflicting the largest amount of losses on the enemy during this battle to force it to withdraw.
The parties involved in political negotiations are the Palestinian Resistance factions that delegated Hamas, and we have no hand in the ongoing talks.
The arms of the Resistance are not to be used for altering the Lebanese political regime or constitution and imposing a sectarian status quo in the country.
The Resistance's arms are to protect Lebanon, and the land borders are demarcated; the only way any negotiations take place will be on the basis of “leave our Lebanese soil”.
While Nasrallah was speaking, Hezbollah bombed several Israeli sites, as reported by Al Mayadeen.
Thank you for posting these messages on your substack as these events have significant global implications as you know, and a clear indication towards a major confrontation. Accordingly the majority US government legislative body has made clear its intent and continued support for Israel and Arab normalization, including a wider regional war imo.