In support of the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza and in light of the Israeli aggression on the various South Lebanon villages, the Islamic Resistance continued striking the Zionist occupation sites near Lebanon border.
Hezbollah military media issued consecutive statements to illustrate the attacks and their outcomes.
The first statement mentioned that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted one of the newly installed technical system at Ramya site with appropriate weapons at 01:23 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2024, hitting it directly and causing its destruction.
The second statement maintained that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a newly established leadership center of the “Israeli” enemy in the Netu’a settlement with artillery shells at 2:15 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2024, hitting it directly.
According to the third statement, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a group of “Israeli” enemy soldiers at Al-Jardah checkpoint with appropriate weapons at 3:20 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2024, hitting them directly and causing casualties among them, leaving them dead and wounded.
The fourth statement affirmed that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 17:15 on Thursday, May 9, 2024, the deployment of “Israeli” enemy soldiers in the vicinity of Jal Al-Allam site with a heavy-caliber Burkan missile.
The fifth statement stressed that, in response to the assassination of the fighters in the town of Bafliyeh, the Islamic Resistance launched on Thursday, May 9, 2024, an aerial operation with assault drones targeting the military leadership of the command enemy forces in the settlement of Burkan missile and its vicinity, directly hitting its operations room and inflicting casualties among its officers and soldiers, which left them dead or wounded.
In support of the resilient Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in solidarity with their courageous resistance, the Islamic Resistance carried out a number of operations against “Israeli” army sites and deployments along the Lebanese-Palestinian borders on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, as follows:
– Eastern Sector:
1. At 10:30, targeting one of the newly installed technical systems in Al-Assi site with a raiding combat drone and directly hitting it, resulting in its destruction.
2. At 11:03, targeting a building used by “Israeli” soldiers in Al-Mutela settlement and directly hitting it in response to the enemy’s attacks on southern villages, civilian homes, and the targeting of civilians.
3. At 11:03, targeting a building used by “Israeli” soldiers in Al-Manara settlement in response to the enemy’s attacks on steadfast southern villages, civilian homes, and the targeting of civilians.
4. At 17:00, targeting Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kafr Shuba with missile weapons and directly hitting it.
– Western Sector:
1. At 11:00, targeting two buildings used by “Israeli” soldiers in Shlomi settlement in response to the enemy’s attacks on steadfast southern villages, civilian homes, and the targeting of civilians.
2. At 11:00, targeting two buildings used by “Israeli” soldiers in the Avivim settlement in response to the enemy’s attacks on steadfast southern villages, civilian homes, and the targeting of civilians.
3. At 13:25, after monitoring and tracking the movement of “Israeli” soldiers at Al-Raheb site and their entry into their bunker, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance targeted it with guided missiles, directly hitting it. At the same time, the fighters targeted the espionage equipment at the site and destroyed it.
4. At 14:25, after monitoring and tracking the movement of “Israeli” soldiers at the Malkiya site and their entry into one of their bunkers, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance targeted it with guided missiles, directly hitting it. At the same time, the fighters targeted its espionage equipment and destroyed it.
5. At 15:00, targeting the newly established headquarters of the Western Brigade in Ya’ara with precision air strikes from assault drones.
6. At 16:20, targeting the headquarters of the 91st Division in the Branit barracks with a heavy-caliber Burkan missile, directly hitting it, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks on southern villages, civilian homes, and the targeting of civilians.
7. At 19:50, targeting a force of “Israeli” soldiers while they were moving near the Ramya site with artillery shells, directly hitting them
During a meeting of “Israel’s” Conflict Zone Forum, the leaders of the Israeli northern settlements decided to announce the establishment of the State of Galilee and fully separate from “Israel”.
According to Israeli news website Walla!, the step is set to be announced on “Independence Day”. The media website explained that their decision was reached after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissive response to Benny Gantz’s inquiry about settlers returning home for the school year, saying, “What would happen if they return a few months after September 1?”
This latest action follows the forum members’ publication of protest advertisements in early April, where they publicly solicited bids to “locate the Israeli government.”
As cited by Israeli media, the ads read, “A public tender to locate a government in Israel!” and “The Conflict Zone Forum hereby invites proposals to be submitted to an alternative government in Israel as detailed in the tender documents.”
Most significant was the ad which depicted the extent of the despair of Israeli settlers on the border with Lebanon that reads:
“The full details of the tender can be found in the evacuated hotels and the accommodation apartments of the displaced throughout the country, with the business owners who collapsed in the north, in the dead tourism areas in the north, and in the offices of the authorities in the north.”
In parallel with these claims, settlers from abandoned settlements in northern occupied Palestine are planning demonstrations on May 16 in al-Quds and Haifa, advocating against a political agreement with Hezbollah and calling for security to be brought back to their region through military means.
Nasrallah’s terror balance that ‘Israel’ can’t confront: Israeli media
A new balance of terror has emerged in the North, one that “Israel” cannot live with even for a “single hour,” an op-ed published by Israeli newspaper Maariv on Tuesday said.
Avi Ashkenazi, the military correspondent of the newspaper, recalled in his piece the course of confrontation, the balance of combat, and the rules of engagement between Hezbollah and the occupation since before the withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
“Any solution in the North requires decision-makers in Israel to work on dismantling this balance of terror,” the author began by warning.
According to the Ashkenazi, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was able, before the Israeli withdrawal, and over the years, to create engagement rules in his favor in the “security belt in Lebanon,” where “he decided that every Israeli attack on a civilian target would lead to rocket fire on Kiryat Shmona and settlements in the Galilee,” and that the targets of the rocket launches varied between “open areas and inhibited ones.”
Later, this led to the debate within the occupation entity about the withdrawal to intensify, he said.
At least 35 Palestinians were killed and 129 wounded as Israeli forces carried out new massacres in the eastern and southern areas of Rafah.
The United States reportedly suspended sending arms shipments to Israel, due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.
Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades announced in a statement that they are engaged in fierce clashes with invading Israeli forces east of Rafah.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
HAARETZ: Clashes took place between families of captives in Gaza and Israeli police officers at a Tel Aviv demonstration demanding an exchange deal.
UNICEF: 600,000 Palestinian children are seeking shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, some of whom have been displaced several times, exhausted, traumatized, sick and hungry.
FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way to return Israeli prisoners held by the Resistance.
ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS: The Free University of Brussels decided to stop a technological research project with Israeli partners, and to review all other projects with Israeli participation.
HEZBOLLAH: We targeted “with artillery shells a force of Israeli enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Ramia site, and we achieved a direct hit.”
ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.
FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way… pic.twitter.com/MuJT6dqIui
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 pm (GMT +2)
KAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is working on a draft law proposal with the ultra-Orthodox parties, bypassing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Defense Council Minister Benny Gantz.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu backed down from showing flexibility in exchange negotiations.
UNRWA: The crossings must be opened, and humanitarian aid must flow.
HAMAS: The probability of the occupation remaining in the Gaza Strip is zero.
CHANNEL 14: Israeli occupation army evacuated a temporary military site on the Gaza envelope, fearing that resistance elements would infiltrate it.
WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.
WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
UNRWA: Protest by Israeli extremists in front of our headquarters in Jerusalem is “intimidation and sabotage”.
NETANYAHU’S SPOKESMAN: The seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip by the Israeli army does not violate the peace treaty between Tel Aviv and Cairo.
UNRWA: The agency’s buildings in Gaza were subjected to 368 Israeli attacks.
ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.
ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
AUSTIN: We are absolutely committed to Israel’s right to defend itself.
FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF: There is no meaning to fighting in Rafah after all these days since the start of the war.
CHANNEL 13: Eight rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Shlomi in the Eshkol Regional Council in the Gaza Strip.
HEZBOLLAH: We carried out an attack with assault marches on the headquarters of the newly created Western Brigade in Ya’ra, and a direct hit was achieved.
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN: Carrying out an Israeli ground military operation in Rafah destabilizes the entire region. There are no prospects yet for resolving the situation in the Gaza Strip, and the conflict in the region is escalating daily.
US OFFICIAL (to Al-Jazeera): Washington’s position on Rafah has not changed, and a broad operation must not be launched.
UNRWA: We did not receive aid or fuel through the Rafah crossing.
NBC (citing Israeli official). There is deep frustration in the Israeli government with the American decision to halt the arms shipment.
Tuesday, May 7, 4:15 pm (GMT +2)
GAZA STRIP CROSSINGS AUTHORITY: The Gaza Strip Crossings Authority denied Israel’s claims that it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, south of the Strip, for the entry of aid.
AL-JAZEERA: About 200 European Union employees demonstrated in the Belgian capital, Brussels, against the Union’s policies towards the Gaza Strip.
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced the bombing of Israeli occupation forces’ concentrations at the “Kerem Shalom Military Site” with a 114 mm short-range “Rajoum” missile system.
Tuesday, May 7, 2:45 pm (GMT +2)
GAZA GOVERNMENT MEDIA OFFICE: A third mass grave was found inside the Shifa Medical Complex and 49 bodies were recovered.
AL-JAZEERA: Six workers were injured by occupation fire at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We bombed with heavy-caliber mortar shells Israeli occupation soldiers and vehicles penetrating the vicinity of the airport, east of the city of Rafah.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
ISRAELI ARMY: 3,361 Israeli soldiers have been injured since the start of the war on Gaza.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
US MEDIA: Metropolitan Police began evacuating a pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University at dawn today.
Tuesday, May 7, 1:30 pm (GMT +2)
AL-JAZEERA: Rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli monk site in the Upper Galilee.
ISRAELI MEDIA: The Israeli army is investigating the downing of its drone in Kfar Saba, between Jaffa and Tulkarm.
HEZBOLLAH: We targeted two buildings used by Israeli army soldiers in the Hanita settlement.
In this video, Al-Quds Brigades fighters are seen bombarding Israeli soldiers and vehicles with mortar shells in the axes of advance east of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: The death toll from the Israeli bombing on the Al-Qara family’s home in the Khuza’a area, east of Khan Yunis, has risen to three.
Tuesday, May 7, 12:30 pm (GMT +2)
HEZBOLLAH: We targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in the Metulla settlement, and two other buildings in the Shlomi settlement in the Upper Galilee.
YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: The Israeli army downplayed the US administration’s suspension of an arms shipment following an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this week, saying that the two allied parties resolve any disputes “behind closed doors.”
Tuesday, May 7, 11:30 am (GMT +2)
PALESTINIAN FACTIONS: We will not accept the imposition of any guardianship over the Rafah crossing or any other party, and we consider this an occupation.
CHANNEL 13: An anti-tank missile hit a house in the town of Metulla.
PALESTINIAN MEDICAL SOURCES: The bodies of 35 Palestinians and 129 wounded arrived at Kuwait Hospital in Rafah within 24 hours.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
KEREM SHALOM: Kerem Shalom crossing reopened for the entry of humanitarian aid after it was closed.
QATARI FM: Qatar strongly condemns the bombing of Rafah and calls for preventing its invasion.
AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We are engaged in fierce clashes east of Rafah.
MAARIV: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich submitted a petition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop delaying legislation on the use of Palestinian Authority funds held by Israel .
ISRAELI MEDIA: Instructions were issued to farmers in the Gaza Strip not to go out to work in the areas adjacent to the border fence.
Tuesday, May 7, 09:00 am (GMT +2)
BEN-GVIR: The demolition of dozens of homes in the Negev is an important step towards restoring governance.
AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).
AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
UNRWA: UNRWA called for the reopening of Gaza crossings without any delay, noting that vital supplies and fuel are entered through them.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Dozens of prisoners’ families are closing the main Ayalon axis in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to return their children.
Tuesday, May 7, 08:00 am (GMT +2)
AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza'a, east of… pic.twitter.com/9dfg0CjEgN
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
AFP (citing US official): We suspended sending an arms shipment to Israel of 1,800 1,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. Suspending the shipment of weapons to Israel due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.
Tuesday, May 7, 05:00 am (GMT +2)
NBC (citing US officials): American, Qatari and Egyptian negotiators are trying in Cairo to resolve various disagreements regarding the ceasefire deal.
AXIOS (citing American source): Republican representatives are preparing legislation targeting international criminal officials.
Tuesday, May 7, 03:00 am (GMT +2)
WASHINGTON POST (quoting US official): The move by the administration of US President Joe Biden to postpone two arms shipments to Israel confirms Washington’s fears about the Rafah attack.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: An Israeli raid and artillery shelling in the center and north of the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday, May 7, 02:00 am (GMT +2)
REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.
REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 8, 2024
BRITISH DEPUTY FOREIGN SECRETARY: Israel’s attack on Rafah would violate international law and would not lead to the elimination of Hamas.
Tuesday, May 7, 01:00 am (GMT +2)
MARTIN GRIFFITHS: Martin Griffiths said that Israeli evacuation orders in Rafah and the ground operation will lead to more death and displacement.
REUTERS (quoting informed sources): The administration of US President Joe Biden will not submit its report to Congress on whether Israel is violating international law in Gaza on time.
BLINKEN: Blinken condemns “extremist attacks” on aid heading from Jordan to Gaza.
Tuesday, May 7, 12:00 am (GMT +2)
YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: CIA Director William Burns will arrive in Israel tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Chief David Barnea to discuss a possible deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.
Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi again called to postpone an investigation into the occupation army’s failures over Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, as the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the fronts in Gaza and Lebanon reached six.
Israeli media reported that Halevi issues a new letter to the state comptroller, asking him to postpone an investigation into the military’s multiple failures that occurred before, during, and after the October 7 attack.
“Your conclusion that the current timing makes it possible to start an audit does not correspond to the security reality and the burden” on the Israeli military, said Halevi to Matanyahu Englman, as reported by The Times of Israel.
Herzi Halevi, Israeli military chief speaking to troops ahead of a military march (Thursday, April 20, 2023).
“An audit at this time will cause substantial and severe harm to the war efforts,” Halevi said.
“I pledge that the IDF will cooperate fully with the state comptroller, but not at the expense of the complex tasks before us,” Halevi added referring to the occupation military (IOF).
In December, Englman said his office would “leave no stone unturned” in its investigation.
Halevi then raised objections, saying the state comptroller’s examination was unprecedented and would divert the attention of IDF commanders currently conducting operations in Gaza.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Israeli occupation military announced that two Israeli soldiers were killed in Hezbollah’s Monday drone strike on Metula.
Earlier, the occupation military revised the death toll of the Israeli soldiers killed in Hamas’ rocket attack on Karem Abu Salem site near Gaza to four.
The Israeli occupation army was on Monday investigating the failure over the Karem Abu Salem attack.
In response to the Israeli crime of raiding a residential area in Mais Al-Jabal and killing four civilians, Hezbollah fired dozens of missiles at Kiryat Shmona settlement.
Hezbollah military media issued a statement which affirmed that, in response to the heinous crime committed by the “Israeli” enemy in the town of Mais Al-Jabal, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombarded Kiryat Shmona settlement with tens of Katyusha and Falaq rockets on Sunday noon, May 5, 2024.
The Israeli war jets raided a house in Mais Al-Jabal town when its dwellers trying to move some piece of furniture out into the residence of displacement. The father, mother and two children were killed, and the rest of the family members were injured.
Hezbollah carried out more operations in response to the Zionist aggression on South Lebanon and support of Gaza.
The second statement mentioned that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the surveillance equipment at Ramya site with appropriate weapons at 3:20 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2024, and directly hit it.
The third statement maintained that, in response to the heinous crime committed by the “Israeli” enemy in the town of Meiss Al-Jabal, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombarded the enemy’s artillery bunkers and the deployment of its soldiers and vehicles in Al-Zaoura with tens of Katyusha rockets on Sunday afternoon, May 5, 2024, resulting in its hit and fires breaking out in it.
The fourth statement affirmed that, in response to the heinous crime committed by the “Israeli” enemy in the town of Mais Al-Jabal, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a building in Avivim settlement with appropriate weapons on Sunday afternoon, May 5, 2024, and directly hit it.
In response to the heinous crime committed by the “Israeli” enemy in the town of Meiss Al-Jabal, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a building in the settlement of Shtula with appropriate weapons on Sunday afternoon, May 5, 2024, and directly hit it, according to the fifth statement.
The sixth statement indicated that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 6:00 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2024, the spy devices at Malikiyah occupation site with appropriate weapons, hitting them directly.
The seventh statement underlined that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Al-Samaqa site with missile weapons at 6:15 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2024, inflicting direct hits.
The eighth statement emphasized that, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks on the resilient southern villages and civilian homes, especially the martyrdom of civilians in the town of Mais Al-Jabal, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Kfar Yuval settlement with missile weapons on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
The ninth statement underscored that, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks on the resilient southern villages and civilian homes, especially the martyrdom of civilians in the town of Mais Al-Jabal, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the settlement of Kfar Giladi with missile weapons on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
The tenth statement highlighted that, in response to the aggressions of the “Israeli” enemy against the resilient southern villages and civilian homes, especially the martyrdom of civilians in the town of Meiss Al-Jabal, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted, on Sunday, May 5, 2024, Margaliot settlement with rocket weapons.
Hezbollah military media had released a video which shows the Islamic Resistance attack on two buildings housing Zionist soldiers in Shtoula settlement.
In support of the steadfast Palestinian people in Gaza and in endorsement of their courageous and honorable resistance, the Islamic Resistance carried out several operations against the positions and deployments of the “Israeli” enemy army on the Lebanese-Palestinian borders on Saturday, May 4, 2024, as follows:
– Eastern Sector:
1- At 00:50, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted “Israeli” enemy soldiers while they were moving inside Bayyad Blida site with artillery shells. 2- At 15:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Al-Radar site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with rocket weapons, hitting it directly. 3- At 19:05, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Al-Mutela site, and its garrison and espionage equipment with appropriate weapons, hitting them directly, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks on the resilient southern villages and civilian homes, most recently in Kfar Kila.
– Western Sector:
1- At 14:10, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the spy equipment at Al-Raheb site with appropriate weapons, hitting it directly.
In support of the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza and in light of the Israeli aggression on the various South Lebanon villages, the Islamic Resistance continued striking the Zionist occupation sites near Lebanon border.
Hezbollah military media issued consecutive statements to illustrate the attacks and their outcomes.
The first statement mentioned that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted, at 3:00 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2024, Zibdeen site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with artillery shells, causing direct hits.
The second statement maintained that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted, at 3:45 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2024, Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba with appropriate weapons, causing direct hits.
In support of the resilient Palestinian people in Gaza and in solidarity with their brave and honorable resistance, the Islamic resistance carried out a number of operations against “Israeli” military sites and deployments along the Lebanese-Palestinian borders on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, as follows:
– Eastern Sector:
1- At 17:00, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a building in Al-Mutela settlement with appropriate weapons, causing direct damage, in response to “Israeli” attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes. 2- At 17:50, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba with rocket weapons.
– Western Sector:
1- At 08:15, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the deployment of “Israeli” soldiers in the vicinity of the Branit Barracks with rocket weapons and artillery shells. 2- At 17:35, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted two buildings housing enemy soldiers in Shtula settlement with guided missiles, causing direct hits, in response to “Israeli” attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes.
“They found it hard to avoid crying” was the title of an article published by the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, disclosing details of a meeting between businessmen investing in north of occupied Palestine and members of Negev-Galilee development committee in the Knesset.
The Zionist paper mentioned that the businessmen of the North are collapsing under the impact of the total paralysis caused by Hezbollah attacks, whose end do not loom in the horizon.
Head of the regional council in the North said that the businessmen are incapable of waiting limitlessly, amid the absence of the governmental role, the paper added.
The Chief Executive Officer of Upper Galilee Economic Firm reported that many firms are endangered by collapse as they will be unlikely visited by tourists although they are several kilometers away from the borders with Lebanon.
Moty Ohana, a business owner, told the Knesset committee that he fruitlessly tried to obtain financial compensations from the government, adding that he took a loan to manage with survival.
A closed hotel owner screamed, “People are collapsing and having heart attacks.”
Yedioth Ahronoth indicated that Hezbollah attacks are causing the situation in the North to exacerbate as around 100 thousand settlers have been displaced with meager intention to return and almost 10 thousand firms are facing an existential threat.
Iranian firebrand MP Mahmoud Nabavian reveals the calculated strategy, diplomatic intrigue, and bold military prowess that showcased Tehran’s 13 April missile strikes on Israel.
Following the strategic success of Iran’s ‘True Promise’ retaliatory drone and missile operation in response to last month’s Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, The Cradle presents an exclusive insider‘s narrative provided by Iranian Member of Parliament Mahmoud Nabavian, a principalist who won the most votes in Tehran during the country’s March elections.
His account of the retaliatory strikes against the occupation state offers unparalleled insights into the 13–14 April events. With access to military sources, Nabavian’s testimony serves as the most detailed view to date by an Iranian government official on Iran’s response, one that has sorely exposed the vulnerabilities of Israel’s air defense systems.
In a closed Telegram posting, Nabavian explained that Israel’s “cowardly” attack, which led to the martyrdom of prominent leaders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), occurred “on our soil” – a reference to the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus:
“As the Imam [Ali Khamenei] said, the enemies made a mistake.” Iran’s full-on retaliatory strikes, he thus maintains, were justified and legal under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Below is a transcript (edited for length) from Nabavian’s important revelations about Iran’s military strikes on Israel and the flurry of international deal-making attempts that preceded them:
Two hours after the attack on the consulate in Damascus, the Iranian National Security Council convened and affirmed the inevitability of a response and gave a 10-day deadline to take the necessary diplomatic measures and for the armed forces to prepare their plan to respond.
Diplomatically, the first step was to go to the Security Council, even though we knew that this would be futile. But it was necessary to file a complaint about the attack on our land, assert our natural right to self-defense, and request a Security Council session. Because we are not members of the Council, we had to talk to member states to request that the session be held.
China, Russia, and Algeria agreed. Russia submitted the request, and the session was held, but the US, Germany, Britain, and France did not allow a statement to be issued condemning Israel. The heads of our missions abroad were also active in informing the concerned countries that we would respond to the Zionist entity.
Due to these pressures, Israel denied it had attacked a diplomatic building and that those who were targeted were not diplomats. The consulate building, four of its five floors, were purchased 45 years ago and were designated for diplomatic work. It was indeed a diplomatic building.
After we assured the international community of our right to respond, some countries, such as the US, Germany, England, France, Canada, and Egypt, tried to convince us not to do so, and they confirmed their readiness to meet Iran’s requests. For example, some of these countries that were not previously willing to grant entry visas to our diplomats or officials suddenly decided to do so immediately.
When the US realized that we were serious, it sent a threat that if the response was launched from Iranian territory, it might attack Iran. Our response was that the US is not among our targets, but if it decides to involve itself in defense of Israel, we will respond by targeting it as well, and as you know, there are many American bases around us.
Despite this, the US, Britain, France, and Germany insisted on the same message, yet our answer was that Israel crossed a red line. Then, they said, if we must respond, let it be from outside Iranian territory.
Why did they insist that the strike not be from inside Iran? Because for a long time, they have been assassinating our nuclear scientists and carrying out sabotage operations at the Natanz nuclear reactor. In the last six months alone, they have assassinated 18 members of our armed forces, and we have always responded through our allies [in the Axis of Resistance], but if we did that this time, we would lose face.
If Lebanese Hezbollah had responded to Israel, it could have bombed Beirut, and western powers would have seized upon this to say, ‘If this is a war between Iran and Israel, why did Hezbollah involve itself in it?’ They would also hold it responsible for the subsequent unrest in Lebanon.
Therefore, the insistence that the Iranian response should be through Iran’s allies was meant to distort Hezbollah’s reputation and unleash Israel to target it and other resistance forces in the region and to portray them as mercenaries of Iran. We read these western intentions well, and accordingly, the decision was taken to respond from within Iranian territory.
On the night of Eid al-Fitr, a meeting was held with the heads of diplomatic missions of the countries of the region, and we informed them that we are keen on good neighborliness, but if the US uses any of your countries to carry out action against us, we will strike the US bases on your lands.
This message was conveyed to Washington, and they realized that Iran was serious. They asked us to exercise restraint. The US, Germany, England, France, and Canada – these countries that support brutality and crime in the world and provide the weapons with which the people of Gaza are bombed – ask us to exercise restraint.
[UK Foreign Secretary] David Cameron called the night after the Iranian attack and said he couldn’t sleep last night. This is the malicious British foreign secretary. Why? Because we sent 300 drones and missiles over the heads of the Israelis. The Iranian official who spoke to him said, ‘For six months, rockets have been falling on the people of Gaza, and you slept well every night.’ This is the same malicious Britain that encouraged the US to launch attacks on Yemen.
The important thing is coordination at all levels before responding, politically, diplomatically, and in the media. After the Leader [Ali Khamenei] affirmed in his Eid al-Fitr sermon that we will certainly discipline the enemy, messages came to us requesting that the response be proportionate and not forceful.
Our answer was clear: that first, we would definitely strike Israel; second, that the attack would be direct from Iranian territory; and third, that the National Security Council decided that the response would be a deterrent.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan informed us that it had information that we would bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku, and they asked us not to carry out any action on their territory. I think this was a message that they could turn a blind eye to striking Israeli targets in a neighboring country, but we were already aware of that.
The messages we received were not limited to the US and European countries, but we also received messages from some countries in the region. We tried to take advantage of the matter to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, and we told everyone that this might be a solution to the problem.
They asked us whether a ceasefire in Gaza meant that we would refrain from responding. We answered that we would strike Israel in any case, but perhaps a decision like this would help reduce the severity of the attack. They asked that we give them a few days.
We asked our military forces to postpone the response for 24 hours and gave the countries of the world the opportunity to adhere to their obligations stipulated in international laws and for Israel to pledge not to attack Iranian forces and interests in the region and the world.
Regarding the Iranian request to conclude a permanent, complete, and immediate truce in the Gaza Strip: US President Joe Biden sent a message stating that he would work to achieve it himself, but he set a malicious condition, which is that the Palestinian resistance releases all Israeli prisoners in exchange for Israel releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners, after which the implementation of the truce begins.
Of course, Hamas did not agree to the matter, and this was the correct decision. We understood that they [the Americans] are not serious about reaching a truce and that they are only looking to achieve their malign goals.
Everyone realized that we would attack Israel. The US, France, Britain, and even Italy harnessed all their military capabilities in Qatar, alongside the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
They equipped six missile launchers in the region’s waters with a range of between 2,000 and 3,000 kilometers. They harnessed all modern satellites and radars, moved 103 aircraft into the region’s airspace to strike our missiles, and placed all air defense systems under unified command under the supervision of the US to confront Iranian missiles in several stages.
That is, if the Iranian missiles were able to pass any defense line, they would be targeted and shot down in the next.
What is interesting is that the German foreign minister, 24 hours before the Iranian operation was carried out, called us and was pleading that we not target Israel from inside Iranian territory. He said that our missiles would not be able to pass the obstacles and defense lines that they had prepared to intercept our missiles and that the US was using 70 drones in Iraq for that, and it would increase the number to 700.
They were monitoring the movements of our soldiers, missiles, and drones, and they believed that none of the Iranian missiles would reach Israel. They were confident that the missiles would not be able to penetrate air defense systems.
At the Turkish Incirlik base, which includes 5,000 soldiers, a large number of AWACS planes and 15 jamming planes were harnessed to repel our attack.
As such, they were astonished at how Iran was able to evade the huge layers of defense they had activated, and what surprised them even more was that it took five and a half to seven hours for the drones to reach the Zionist entity, and their speed was not great, which meant that they were easy to shoot down.
Twenty-four hours before the operation, Washington sent a firm message stating that if we decided to attack Israel from our territory, they will respond militarily against Iran. This time, they did not talk about possibilities but rather said that they would definitely attack Iranian territory. Our answer was decisive, that we will definitely strike Israel from within our territories, and if you commit any mistake, we will target all your bases in the region.
We informed Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region that if Iranian territory is targeted from within your territory, we will definitely respond. Saudi Arabia announced that it would not allow any operation against Iran to be carried out from its territory, and the authorities in Cyprus also informed us of a similar message.
We knew that the Iraqi and Jordanian airspace was completely under US control. We thought about the Israeli targets that we were going to hit, and we faced two obstacles: the first was that their air defenses were very strong, and we had to find a way for our drones and missiles to pass them, and the second was not to take action that will lead to us being condemned.
The decision was to strike two military targets: the first was the [Nevatim] airport from which the F-35 plane that bombed the Iranian consulate took off, and the second was an Israeli intelligence center in the Golan. By coincidence, the fighter jet that targeted the consulate fired its missiles from above this intelligence headquarters.
Our drones, numbering about 130, were launched, the majority of which belonged to us, and between two and three were sent by our allied forces. We also launched missiles carrying explosive warheads, a large number of which deflected the air defenses from their path.
I will not talk much about the number of hits we targeted, but out of 17 missiles, 15 hit their targets, meaning 89 percent. The whole west was there, and we delivered an important message to the world.
In the aftermath of the operation, 15 countries contacted and said that they were seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and asked Israel not to respond.
The British and German foreign ministers contacted us and said that international law does not include the term “punishment.” We answered them: If that does not exist in international law, why did you propose punishing Hamas after 7 October? The calls continued to ask whether we would attack Israel again. We said that if we were attacked, we would respond tenfold.
The countries of the region have now understood Iran’s capabilities and it seems that they will seek to significantly improve their relations with Iran. The Israelis realized that when the spirit of despair takes hold, as Ben Gurion says, ‘we will begin to fall down the slope that leads to the abyss,’ and this has become clear to the world.
As the master of the resistance [Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah] expresses, ‘Israel is weaker than a spider’s web,’ and, God willing, this operation will be a deterrent against the assassinations that were occurring against us. Now, this is the only thing that Israel can do, and we must be more vigilant, and we must instill hope in the peoples of the region and not care about the rulers.
Mahmoud Nabavian’s account not only exposes the meticulous planning behind the Islamic Republic’s response but also reveals a resolve to defend sovereignty and impose a credible deterrence against future violations – at all costs.
Tehran’s military response should be interpreted beyond the current regional war centered on Gaza and signals a broad recalibration of power dynamics in West Asia. As western and neighboring states assess the implications of Iran’s new assertive military posture, alliances, and strategies will require careful reconsideration.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
Hezbollah’s Military Media released late on Sunday video showing the strike on the settlement of Meron and the surrounding settlements in northern occupied Palestine, as the Lebanese resistance group went ahead with pro-Gaza attacks against Israeli sites.
The footage below shows dozens of Hezbollah’s Katyusha missiles pounding Meron and the surrounding settlements. The strike took place late Saturday.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Hezbollah’s Military Media announced that the resistance group launched four strikes targeting Israeli sites.
According to a summary provided by the Military Media department, Hezbollah’s Islamic Resistance fighters shelled Al-Baghdadi site at 11:45, inflicting direct hits.
Later on Sunday afternoon (at 15:10), the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba with appropriate weapons, inflicting direct hits.
The third strike saw the Islamic Resistance fighters hitting Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba with missile weapons.
Later at 19:00, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a structure used by Israeli enemy soldiers in Shtula settlement, inflicting direct hits, in response to the enemy’s attacks on resilient villages and civilian homes.
Since October 8, Lebanon’s Hezbollah group launched attacks on Israeli sites along the border with occupied Palestine in solidarity with the Palestinian people and resistance.
Israeli Walla news website’s military correspondent reported on Monday that “Hezbollah insists on linking the northern front with Gaza battle.”
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli media reported on the damage at Menara border settlement, due to a Hezbollah strike on the area a day earlier.
Israeli Haaretz newspaper wrote that “it is difficult to find a safe area in Kibbutz Menara at the border with Lebanon, with destruction evident in every corner of the kibbutz.”
“Estimates indicate that around 70% of the buildings there have been damaged by direct missile strikes,” the Israeli daily added.
Hezbollah goes ahead with its painful strikes against the Israeli enemy, with an Israeli being killed early on Friday in a double ambush carried by the Lebanese resistance group in occupied Shebaa Farms.
Hezbollah’s Military Media announced the strike on Sehbaa Farms early on Friday, saying that the Islamic Resistance fighters carried out a complex ambush, employing guided missiles, artillery, and rocket weapons.
The strike targeted a convoy of Israeli armored vehicles near the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba.
“Upon its arrival at the ambush point, the convoy was targeted with guided, artillery, and rocket weapons, resulting in the destruction of two vehicles.”
The IOF has imposed a complete media ban on the "difficult incident" that took place on the Lebanese border a few hours ago, namely the complex Hezbollah operation at the Ruwaisat Al-Alam military site in the occupation Lebanese Shebaa Farms using guided missiles, artillery, and… pic.twitter.com/iZmM2rmDzK
The Israeli media also reported the attack, saying that Hezbollah operatives fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli army force in Har Dov (occupied Shebaa Farms) last night.
The occupation army acknowledged that the strike killed an Israeli, with the Hebrew media claiming he was a “civilian contracted by the military.”
“The man is identified as Sharif Suad, a resident of the Bedouin town of Sallama near Karmiel,” The Times of Israel reported, adding that he was carrying out “infrastructure activity” for the Israeli military in the Mount Dov area (occupied Shebaa Farms) when the missile attack occurred.
The Israeli who was killed by Hezbollah strike on occupied Shebaa Farms ( image by The Times of Israel)).
The Lebanese border towns witnessed intensified Israeli shelling and air strikes on Friday, Al-Manar correspondent reported.
Local media reported that more than 100 artillery shells were fired by the Israeli occupation army, as well as air strikes on Kfar Shuba and Shebaa.
For its part, Israel Hayom reported that the occupation military managed to retrieve the body of the killed individual in Har Dov after a complex operation that lasted for hours under fire.
Meanwhile, Yedioth Ahronoth said that the Israeli army has opened an investigation into the attack on Har Dov, noting that the force was supposed to operate in the darkness so as not to be targeted.
It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of the operation launched by Hamas and factions of the Palestinian Resistance on October 7, which forever annihilated the prestige of the Israeli army. Yet the strikes launched by Iran on April 13 and 14 are also truly historic.
For the first time, the backbone of the Axis of Resistance targeted Israel directly from its territory, launching the largest missile attack ever recorded against Israel and the largest drone attack in history. We have entered a whole new phase in the Arab-Israeli and Persian-Israeli conflict, and this is the final one as all the taboos have now been broken, and new equations have been established.
Israel’s deterrence capacity no longer exists. Since October 7, Hamas, Hezbollah, Ansar Allah and the Iraqi Resistance have shattered it. Still, these were Resistance movements, not a State with much more to lose. This direct action by Iran is all the more significant as Israel has been threatening to bomb Iran for decades without ever daring to do so, while Iran very quickly carried out its threats.
Iran launched its strike despite U.S. and Western threats, demonstrating unparalleled courage and a readiness to enter into a regional war and directly threatening the United States and its Arab vassals in the region with direct strikes in the event of interference. This audacity foiled the bluff of the Biden administration, which officially declared that it would not support an Israeli response from which it disassociated itself in advance.
Iran’s military prowess was clearly demonstrated. Despite the fact that this attack was known in advance and that the capabilities – both aviation and anti-missile defenses of no less than five military powers directly assisting Israel (the United States, Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) were unable to stop Iran from striking Israeli territory. Israel’s defense systems were saturated, sirens sounded from north to south for hours, and yet at least twenty direct hits were recorded.
Iran demonstrated its moral superiority. It strictly applied Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which authorizes the use of force in self-defense, targeted only military targets (two air bases that were destroyed according to Iran and damaged according to Israel), and gave advance warning of its strike, which enabled the countries affected to close their airspace, thus protecting the civilian airliners that Israel had been endangering for days by massively jamming GPS signals throughout the region.
Finally, as Marwa Osman put it, the failure of Israel’s five layers of defense was compensated for by a sixth layer of media defense, with journalists repeating that Israel and its allies were able to intercept 99% of the projectiles. Given the impacts recorded, this would mean that Iran fired 1,000 to 2,000 drones and missiles, whereas all the Western data puts the figure below 500; the aim of this deceit was obviously to allow Israel to save face and enable it to claim victory as it supposedly was able to intercept 99% of the projectiles.
Sayed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said in 2007,
“Those who make threats should have realized that military threats or attacks against Iran – in the sense of hit-and-run attacks – are no longer possible. Those who invade us will have to suffer from the devastating consequences of their actions.“
While his statement has been mocked many times, particularly given the numerous Israeli attacks on Iranian bases in Syria that have cost the lives of many members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with relative impunity, no one today doubts the seriousness of this assertion. When its territory is hit, as was the case with the blatant Israeli strike against its consulate in Damascus, the aggressor is hit directly. And from now on, as Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, stated following Iran’s attack, any open attack against Iranian interests will be met with the same retribution,
“We have established a new equation with the Zionist entity, responding directly from Iranian territory to any aggression on its part against Iranian interests, property, personalities and citizens in any part of the world. We have opened a new chapter in the confrontation with the enemy.“
This is a truly tectonic shift in the equations of power and deterrence. Those who play down the importance of the attack ignore its long-term political and strategic significance, which is in line with Iran’s vision, shared by the entire Axis of Resistance, of the form, scale and timing of the struggle against Israel. As Fadi Quran, the Campaign Director of Avaaz, pointed out following the attack,
The scale of Iran’s attack, the diversity of locations it targeted, and weapons it used forced Israel to uncover the majority of anti-missile technologies the U.S. and it have across the region. The Iranians did not use any weapons Israel didn’t know it had; it just used a lot of them. But the Iranians likely now have almost a full map of what Israel’s missile defense system looks like, as well as where in Jordan and the Gulf the U.S. has installations. It also knows how long it takes to prepare them, how Israeli society responds…etc.
“This is a huge strategic cost to Israel, while Arab regimes are now being blasted by their peoples, particularly the Jordanian monarchy, for not doing anything to protect Gazans but then going all out to protect Israel. Crucially, Iran can now reverse engineer all the intel gathered from this attack to make a much more deadly one credible. While the U.S. and Israel will have to re-design away from their current model which has been compromised. Its success in stopping this choreographed attack is thus still very costly.”
While Israel proved barely capable of defending itself, at an exorbitant cost of over a billion dollars no less, against an attack that was limited in scope, lacked the element of surprise and cost Iran a measly 35 million dollars, there is little doubt in anyone’s mind that in the event of a regional war, Israel’s defense capabilities would quickly be saturated, leaving its territory devastated and its population decimated. The Israeli population is now clearly aware of this, and the depopulation process that has already cost it hundreds of thousands of nationals since October 7 is only set to increase.
For their part, the Palestinian people, abandoned by the world and Arab regimes in particular, were able to enjoy a brief respite. Gaza experienced its first hours of calm since October 7 during this unforgettable night. Palestinians were able to let their joy burst forth when they saw the epic images of the Iranian missiles flying over the Knesset and the Al-Aqsa mosque before striking the hearts of those responsible for their mass slaughter.
Not unlike the psychological shock of October 7, that of the night of April 13 will forever be engraved in people’s consciences. It will galvanize the Resistance while speeding up the process of “reverse migration” of Israeli settlers who have lived through a night of terror and nightmare and are now convinced that their army is incapable of protecting them.
With the senseless act of attacking the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Netanyahu sought to escape the inevitable reality of the bitter military failure of the army of occupation, despite six months of genocide and destruction, and to restore Israel’s illusion of power. The result is the opposite of what he likely expected, with Israel weaker and more isolated than ever.
Israel now has only one choice: to end the war in Gaza or go forward with a suicidal escalation that will set the region ablaze. The United States has clearly announced its desire to calm tensions and reach a ceasefire. The question now is whether Netanyahu’s instinct for self-preservation (his political survival) will take over the general interest. This scenario would put the very existence of Israel at risk.
Editor’s Note: The author of this article has chosen to publish under a pseudonym. This decision stems from residing in a European country where expressing criticism of Israel has become increasingly challenging. Sadly, governmental crackdowns on activism have compelled the author and others to take this precaution to safeguard their ability to contribute to public discourse. We believe it is crucial to respect their decision while valuing the insights and perspectives they offer in their writing.
Palestinian al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida hails the steadfastness of the Palestinian Resistance as it faces the Israeli occupation forces for the 200th day.
The Israeli occupation has proven impotent as it proved unsuccessful in making any advances in Gaza 200 days into its ruthless onslaught as it only commits massacres and destroys civilian infrastructure, al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida said on Tuesday.
Today marks the 200th day of Israeli aggression on Gaza in the wake of Operation al-Aqsa Flood, an aggression that has thus far claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. However, no one is touting an Israeli victory, as their declared goal of destroying the Resistance is not only far from being achieved, but also continuously proving to be unattainable.
The spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing underlined that the Israeli occupation continues to peddle the great lie that is its capacity to destroy all the Palestinian Resistance factions. “200 days later, and the Resistance is still unwavering. It will continue to deal blows to the occupation so long as its aggression continues and so long as it continues to exist on Palestinian land.”
“200 days later, the enemy is still stuck in the sands #Gaza with no goal, no horizon, and no retrieving of its captives,” Military spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida said in a televised speech.
“One of the lies of the enemy government is its attempt to make the… https://t.co/PPUOjWycgh
The Resistance’s operations, the spokesperson said, “Will take new forms and adapt with new, adequate tactics.”
As the war entered its seventh month, Abu Obeida stressed that the Israeli occupation “is still stuck in the mud in Gaza with no hope on the horizon, and it will reap nothing but shame and defeat.”
The Resistance fighters are expelling and will continue to expel “this enemy despite being covered in ashes, rising from beneath the rubble as the whole world bears witness to the might of the Resistance fighters, not just through action on the battlefield but their withdrawal from various directions.”
The Israeli occupation is still trying to restore its image that was tarnished on October 7, the spokesperson underlined. “They aim to link their victory to invading Rafah, and it tries to sell the lie that it defeated all Resistance factions except for the Rafah Battalion.”
Ron Arad scenario to repeat itself
Commenting on the ongoing negotiations and prisoner swap talks, Abu Obeida said the Israeli occupation was attempting to rid itself of the pledges it made during the talks as it aims to gain more time. However, he added, “The Palestinian Resistance will not surrender the pivotal rights of the Palestinian people, chief among which is the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, the lifting of the blockade, and the return of the displaced.”
Abu Obeida, addressing Israeli settlers, underlined that the ball was in the court of the Israeli regime, “but the window of time is very narrow, and they have very limited opportunities.”
He recalled the story of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who disappeared during a mission in the airspace of Lebanon in 1986, with no information being known about him since. “The Israeli captives in Gaza might be fortunate to meet the same fate as Ron Arad,” he said, warning the Israeli occupation against delaying the talks any further.
“The occupation’s policy of exerting military pressure will not push the Resistance but to adhere to its position and safeguard the rights of the people,” he said.
Iranian response set up new rules of engagement
Abu Obeida hailed Iran’s Operation True Promise carried out by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in Iran in response to the occupation’s aggression against the Iranian consulate in Damascus and emphasized that this response “set new rules of engagement and disarrayed the occupation,” as the regime’s backers scrambled to defend it from thousands of miles away.
The al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson went on to praise every military and popular effort made toward Operation al-Aqsa Flood, especially the fronts of Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.
Abu Obeida said the leading edge front of the Resistance was the West Bank front. He also hailed the people of Jordan and called on them to escalate and called on the people of the Arab and Islamic Worlds to also escalate in support of the Palestinian people and cause.
“The hysteric reaction to the Resistance’s military actions on the various fronts indicates the importance of the armed struggle in the face of the occupying powers,” he concluded by saying.
200 days of genocide
The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7 has risen to 34,183 and those injured to 77,143.
In its daily report, the Ministry said that the Israeli occupation forces have committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 32 martyrs and 59 injuries who were transferred to hospitals in the past 24 hours.
On its part, the Government Media Office in Gaza confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces have committed a total of 3,025 massacres against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and dropped 75,000 tonnes of explosives on the enclave.
In an update on the figures resulting from 200 days of “Israel’s” genocidal war on Gaza, the Office emphasized that out of the 34,183 martyrs who reached hospitals, 14,778 are children and 9,752 are women. It added that 30 children lost their lives due to famine, confirming that 72% of the victims of the Israeli war were children and women.
According to the report, the Israeli occupation forces killed 485 medical staff, 67 civil defense crews, and 140 journalists.
It said that 7,000 are still missing and 17,000 children are now orphaned, living without one or both parents.
Multi-front solidarity
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon – Hezbollah confirmed Tuesday that it engaged the headquarters of two Israeli military units in southern occupied Palestine in response to the assassination of one of its fighters in a southern Lebanese town earlier.
In a statement, Hezbollah said its Resistance fighters launched a combined aerial attack using diversionary and suicide drones and engaged the headquarters of the Golani Brigade and the Egoz Unit 621 at Shraga barracks north of the occupied city of Akka, hitting its targets precisely.
Reuters highlighted that this was Hezbollah’s “deepest attack” into occupied Palestinian territory since the start of the Gaza war on October 7.
Israeli media had earlier reported sirens sounding in the Upper al-Jalil area over a drone infiltration and mentioned that interception missiles were launched toward a suspicious aerial target in the skies of Nahariya.
The media also pointed out that sirens sounded in numerous northern settlements reaching the city of Akka. It was also noted that sirens sounded in Kiryat for the first time since last December.
The Israeli Army Radio confirmed that 200,000 Israelis took shelter in the north after three drones were launched from Lebanon over Nahariya.
Hezbollah has moved to counter Israel’s targeted killings strategy by hitting high-value Israeli assets and showcasing stunning intelligence-gathering feats meant to humble Tel Aviv.
On 17 April, Hezbollah launched a series of qualitative military operations on the western sector of the Lebanese–Israeli border, culminating in a sophisticated attack using guided missiles and an explosive-laden drone that struck the headquarters of an Israeli reconnaissance unit in the village of Arab al-Aramshe.
At 1:06 p.m., a report was received of a direct hit to a community center in the Arab Al Aramsha area. There are 6 injured, one of them in serious condition, another injured in moderate condition and the rest in light condition.
The attack resulted in 18 casualties, some serious, including an enemy general who succumbed to his wounds, according to Israeli reports.
The primary aim of these operations was to deliver a stern message to Israel: further targeted killings of Hezbollah members will not be tolerated. The resistance response was specifically provoked by the assassination of its fighters in the villages of Ain Baal and Chehabiya the previous day, where Israeli drone strikes martyred several fighters in quick succession.
Hezbollah strikes, Israel reacts
On the morning of the retaliatory operation, Hezbollah executed additional notable attacks in the western sector. These included striking the Branit barracks with a powerful Burkan missile and launching an Almas-3 missile at the Meron base’s air control unit, marking the first reported use of this missile with a range exceeding 10 kilometers.
The attack also destroyed an AN/TPQ-37, a radar crucial for detecting projectiles and identifying their origins.
Despite its initial reluctance, the Israeli military acknowledged the operation, following the overwhelming evidence presented in numerous video recordings. The operation, as with many by Hezbollah as of late, was a qualitative response, drawing significant media attention and analysis in Israel.
Prominent commentators noted that Hezbollah had effectively circumvented Israeli warning systems and struck at will, indicating that previous assassinations by Israel did not deter Hezbollah’s strategic operations.
The Arab al-Aramshe operation is being carefully analyzed by Israeli media, both concerning Hezbollah’s tactics and Israel’s responses. Israel’s Channel 12 outlet, in particular, emphasized two major points:
First, Hezbollah learns rapidly from past engagements and introduces new tactics and weapons into the battlefield. This was demonstrated by its deployment of heavy Burkan missiles against Israeli army bases, marking a shift in its approach and showcasing its ability to innovate and apply new technologies in combat scenarios.
Second, the Lebanese resistance movement’s ability to effectively combine multiple weapon systems simultaneously to target a specific location was also noted. This strategy aims to overwhelm the enemy’s defensive measures and maximize impact.
Further insight was provided by a military correspondent from the Hebrew newspaper Makor Rishon, who pointed out that Israel’s numerous assassinations of Hezbollah members have neither deterred nor significantly affected the organization’s ability to carry out sophisticated strikes against sensitive Israeli military points.
Essentially, the Hebrew media depiction paints a picture of concern over the Israeli army’s current military strategies and their effectiveness. Streams of articles now conclude that neither deep raids into Lebanese territory nor the targeting of Hezbollah’s operational capabilities has prevented the organization from accessing and utilizing advanced weaponry or executing coordinated attacks.
Hezbollah’s intelligence gathering
The intelligence capabilities of Hezbollah are clearly robust and have been cultivated over many years. This level of intelligence gathering has been highlighted by the group’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who once pointedly messaged the Israelis:
It is not important what you know about the resistance, but what the resistance knows about you.
The Arab al-Aramshe operation is a compelling illustration of these capabilities. Hezbollah’s prior knowledge of a relatively new reconnaissance site and subsequent successful strike showcase its meticulous intelligence work.
This is by no means an isolated case; similar intelligence-driven operations have targeted other critical Israeli military assets, including operational headquarters and Iron Dome positions across different locations.
Hezbollah has also been able to identify and strike at highly sensitive and less visible targets. This includes military bases like the “Yaav” base and the “Kila” barracks in the occupied Golan Heights, known to be the headquarters of Israel’s air and missile defense command. These sites were specifically targeted following the return of forces from the Golani Brigade, who were training there after committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The complexity of Hezbollah’s intelligence operations lies in its clarity and ambiguity. While the targets of its operations are clear, how it gathers such detailed and specific intelligence remains largely undisclosed and mysterious.
This capability to identify and act upon vulnerabilities deep within Israeli territory points to a sophisticated network of intelligence gathering and analysis, likely involving both technological surveillance and human intelligence.
Raising the stakes
Hezbollah aimed to achieve several objectives through the combined strike in Arab al-Aramshe. These goals include deterring Israel’s assassinations of resistance fighters and asserting the resistance’s focus on hitting significant, high-value targets to inflict substantial losses.
Additionally, Hezbollah demonstrated its capability to gather detailed intelligence, enabling it to pinpoint sensitive and strategic enemy locations.
The escalation of resistance activities aims to set boundaries for the Israeli military, which has continued its strategy of assassinations and attacks against Lebanese civilians and state agricultural areas. Moreover, these actions on the Lebanese front are designed to bolster and support the resistance in the Gaza Strip.
It is through the deployment of various weapons and military tactics that Hezbollah continues to pursue its objective of challenging and restraining Israeli aggression toward Lebanon while simultaneously supporting the Palestinian resistance in Gaza – both politically and militarily – since the launch of Al-Aqsa Flood last year.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
Given the lying and fact twisting that have routinely been part and parcel of accounts of what is occurring in the Middle East, the past several weeks have nevertheless been shocking in terms of how an abysmally low standard of truth can be reduced even farther. Looking at developments objectively, one comes up with a series of facts. First of all, Israel was not at war with either Syria or Iran during the first weeks in April. Iran had never attacked Israel prior to that point and Syria last fought Israel in 1973, over fifty years ago. Israel, however, has regularly been assassinating Iranian officials and scientists and it has been frequently been bombing Syria since 2017, increasing the pace to weekly and sometimes even daily attacks over the past six months paralleling the Gaza fighting. A particularly devastating attack took place on March 29th when the Israeli military launched massive strikes against a weapons storage depot in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo which killed at least 40 people, most of them Syrian soldiers. The air strikes produced a series of explosions that also killed six Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.
But three days later on April 1st a very damaging and unprovoked attack was directed against the Iranian Embassy’s Consulate General, which was located in an upscale neighborhood in Damascus, Syria’s capital. The building was completely destroyed by missiles fired from F-35 fighter planes that had crossed over the Syrian border from Israel, killing Iranian diplomats as well as Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Zahedi’s deputy, General Haji Rahimi, and also Brigadier General Hossein Amirollah, the chief of general staff for the al-Quds force in Syria and Lebanon. Syria subsequently confirmed that a total of 13 people were killed in the attack, including six Syrians and a Lebanese Hezbollah militiaman. Both Iran and Hezbollah vowed revenge.
Attacking a diplomatic mission is considered a major war crime according to the Vienna Convention, but there was no condemnation of the incident coming from the US and the usual suspects in Western Europe. Instead of doing what was right by pressuring Israel to stop attacking its neighbors and thereby possibly preventing a major war in the Middle East, President Joe Biden repeated his pledge that the United States would regard as “ironclad” its commitment to guarantee Israel’s security if Iran were to strike back. This guaranteed to Israel that any action taken by it would be supported by Washington. The Biden Administration also predictably voted against a Russian and Chinese drafted UN Security Council resolution to condemn the Israeli attack on the Iranian Consulate, which was a clear violation of international law and an act of war committed by Israel. The US reportedly cast its veto vote “no” after “Diplomats said the US told council colleagues that many of the facts of what happened on Monday in Damascus remained unclear.” What was actually unclear was the fog that generally surrounds the Biden foreign policy and national security team since it was pretty transparent who was the aggressor in terms of means, motive and outcome.
When Iran did retaliate on April 13th, it carried out a carefully calibrated moderate strike against military targets intended to do damage but not cause a large number of casualties. It reportedly hit several airbases from which the Israeli fighter bombers had begun their attack on Damascus as well as an Israeli Air Force intelligence center in the formerly Syrian Golan Heights. No one was killed in spite of the 300 estimated drones and missiles that were launched, most being intercepted by Israel and its allies. But the attack nevertheless sent a message from Tehran that next time it could be much worse, both immediate in timing and “considerably more severe” than its response on Saturday night had been. Iran also claims that it attempted to prevent an escalation by warning the US about their plans, which would be passed on to Israel, that a “controlled” retaliation was coming. The Pentagon denied that it had been told anything, which may mean that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asleep at his desk once again.
Not content with the outcome, Israel inevitably struck back on Friday, hitting a major airbase near Isfahan, and, to make sure no one was missed, targets in both Iraq and Syria. Iranian military sources advise however that the loud explosions heard by local residents were Iranian air defenses shooting at some flying objects, presumably drones. Per the New York Times and other accommodating media, the strike was a warning that Israel could penetrate Iranian airspace and not intended to do serious damage. The Pentagon was apparently informed shortly before the Israeli action. Iran’s counter-counter retaliation is now pending, but it is clear that Netanyahu will not be deterred by electoral considerations in the United States to stay his hand in his own counter-counter response.
And how does the United States fit into the story? The White House response to the Iranian attack on Israeli territory was inevitably completely unlike the previous uncritical response to Israel’s Consulate General attack, namely condemnation of Iran and the repetition of the usual tripe about “Israel has a right to defend itself” and the sanctity of the “ironclad” defense arrangement. Biden also attempted to cover himself against political blowback due to his licking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shoes in the upcoming November election by making it known that he had spoken with and advised Netanyahu, recommending not carrying out a reprisal of the reprisal, which Washington would be unable to support as it could/would lead to major escalation. Netanyahu, not fearing Biden’s displeasure, blew the advice off and he and his war cabinet made clear that they were working on a response as well as setting a timetable for invading Rafah in south Gaza, which Biden had also recommended against.
The White House completed its groveling to Netanyahu by vetoing a UN Security Council resolution on April 18th that would have advocated full UN membership status for the state of Palestine, demonstrating that kicking the Palestinians is always a good way to maintain Israeli favor! The vote was 12 (including France, Japan and South Korea) in favor, two abstentions (the shameless United Kingdom and, surprisingly, Switzerland) and an American veto. The US insisted that elevation of Palestine’s diplomatic status can only be obtained after negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield absurdly raised another objection: “Right now, the Palestinians don’t have control over a significant portion of what is supposed to be their state. It’s being controlled by a terrorist organization.” She was referring to Hamas but the comment actually more correctly is applicable to Israel. In any event, a leaked White House memo had previously revealed that Biden opposes full UN membership and statehood for the Palestinians without Israel’s approval, which, of course, will not be forthcoming.
So we have Israel as the aggressor against two countries that were not declared enemies and had not attacked the Jewish state in any way in many, many years. But when Israel attacked them, committing a major war crime Joe Biden and company preferred to sit on their hands and mumble, saving their vituperation for when Iran staged a deliberately mild counter-attack as a warning. That is called hypocrisy, to turn things on their head to provide the answer that one wants to see and it applies equally to Biden accusing the Russians of “illegal occupation” in Ukraine while Israel’s theft of Syria’s Golan Heights and ongoing seizure of the West Bank goes unchallenged by Washington. And the pushback against Iran is unlikely to diminish very soon as the Jewish controlled US Congress also has the bit between its teeth to demonstrate how much it loves Israel. Congressman Steve Scalise, GOP House Majority Leader, has announced that “In light of Iran’s unjustified attack on Israel, the House will move from its previously announced legislative schedule next week to instead consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable. The House of Representatives stands strongly with Israel, and there must be consequences for this unprovoked attack.” Over at the Senate Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas is advocating punishing Iran by beating on its possible friends in the US, physically attacking folks who are demonstrating in support of the Palestinians. Cotton said that the “pro-Hamas criminals” should be confronted by angry citizens who “take matters into [their] own hands” and confront the offenders, endorsing the use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
But there is also the back story behind why Israel likely attacked the Iranians in Syria in the first place. I and a number of other observers immediately after the Israeli attack assumed that the Jewish state had staged a deliberate over-the-top provocation to draw Washington into its wars. Just as in the case of the October 7th Gaza attack by Hamas, which Israel had full knowledge of and let happen, Netanyahu sought to create a situation in which it would goad Iran into being forced to retaliate to force an “ironclad” Biden to protect its “ally” by taking on Iran directly.
Why did Israel do it beyond the obvious desire to destroy Iran just like it is destroying the Palestinians? It was done because Israel has likely become aware that it is viewed as the world’s greatest pariah state due to its genocide in Gaza, to include the recent horrific killing of hundreds of Palestinians in the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza as well as the targeted assassination of seven employees of a charity that was bringing in food to those starving due to Israel’s blocking the entry of relief supplies. And also because Israel is actually not winning its war against Hamas, it needed to shift the narrative to something different. That would be using its time-honored technique of making itself once again the “victim” in confronting a powerful new enemy, Iran, which would make the problem of bad public relations with the world over Gaza be in part mitigated.
A shift in the story would also presumably bring with it the expected help from the United States and its European allies to do the hard work in killing Iranians. And the trick seems to have worked, predictably. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain has been recently facing demands to cut off arms shipments to Israel because of the devastating death toll in Gaza, but on the following Monday, he was able to salute the British warplanes that had shot down some Iranian drones sent by Iran to attack Israel. It was a telling example of how Israel has been able to scramble the equation in the Middle East. Faced with a intensively publicized barrage of Iranian missiles, Britain, the United States, France and others rushed to help the Israelis who had in fact started the conflict. The United States is also currently planning on increasing the pressure on Iran through a series of tough new sanctions being prepared by Treasury Secretary Janice Yellen, saying “Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity.” Yellen notably did nothing when Israel committed a major war crime in its attack on the Iranian Consulate General in Damascus, nor has she supported sanctions over the Israeli Gaza genocide. She is, of course, Jewish. More aid for the Jewish state is also still waiting for a congressional vote to approve the $14 billion currently in the pipeline, with Washington Reportclaiming that this year’s total US aid to Netanyahu will likely exceed $25 billion “in direct costs related to its fervent support for Israel.”
Right now, the dilemma for the US government will be that it must pull out all the stops in supporting Israel or face inter alia retaliation by the Israel Lobby working through its donors and media resources to defeat Biden in November. And there hovers in the peripheries of one’s mind the worse grim possibility that Israel, if rebuffed by its “allies,” will use its secret nuclear arsenal to blow up the Middle East and presumably a large chunk of adjacent areas in Europe and Asia as well. There are stories already circulating suggesting that the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona might have been an Iranian target and that Israel is right now preparing to take out Iranian nuclear research sites. Netanyahu is calling the shots while a befuddled White House looks on. Israel has baited a trap and Joe Biden has stepped right into it.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
In support of the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza and in light of the Israeli aggression on the various South Lebanon villages, the Islamic Resistance continued striking the Zionist occupation sites near Lebanon border.
Hezbollah military media issued consecutive statements to illustrate the attacks and their outcomes.
The first statement mentioned that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted yesterday evening, Monday, April 15, 2024, a gathering of “Israeli” enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Birket Risha site with rocket weapons.
According to the second statement, the Islamic Resistance fighters launched at 14:25 in the afternoon of Tuesday, April 16, 2024, a targeted aerial attack with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on two batches that targeted the missile defense system in Beit Hillel.
“The attack successfully hit the Iron Dome platforms, causing casualties among its crew, leaving them dead and wounded.”
Israeli Channel 12 reported that drones fell in the Galilee, adding that 3 firefighting teams were working to extinguish a fire that broke out in the area, and the incident was under control.
The fifth statement indicated that, in response to the Israeli attacks on the safe villages, the most recent of which was Ai Baal, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombarded Beit Hillel base with Katyusha missiles at 16:45 on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
In response to the Israeli aggression on the Lebanese villages, including Ain Baal and Shehabiyah, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombarded at 19:25 on Tuesday, April 16, 202 the command headquarters of Brigade 769 in Kiryat Shmona with Katyusha missiles, according to the sixth statement.
The seventh statement mentioned that. in response to the Israeli aggression on the Lebanese villages, including Ain Baal and Shehabiyah, the Islamic Resistance fighters bombarded at 19:30 on Tuesday, April 16, 202 the command headquarters of air surveillance unit in Mount Meron with missiles and artillery shells.
Hezbollah military media issued two statements to mourn the fighters Esmail Youssef Baz (Abu Jaafar), Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadlullah, and Mohammad Hussein Mustafa Shehoury who embraced martyrdom all the way to Al-Quds.
Martyr Esmail Youssef Baz
Martyr Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadlullah
Martyr Mohammad Hussein Mustafa Shehoury
Meanwhile, the Israeli media indicated that 40% of Israelis who have evacuated the northern settlements due to Hezbollah attacks will not return.
On the other hand, the Israeli drones and war jets raided several villages in southern Lebanon, targeting civilian houses and cars in Shahabiyeh, Ai Baal, Yaroun, and Alma al-Shaab.
In support of the steadfast Palestinian people in Gaza and in reinforcement of their courageous and honorable resistance, the Islamic Resistancecarried out a number of operations against the positions and deployments of the “Israeli” enemy army along the Palestinian-Lebanese borders on Monday, April 15, 2024, as follows:
– Eastern Sector:
1- On Sunday, April 14, 2024, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the espionage equipment at Al-Radar site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with appropriate weapons, inflicting direct hits.
2- At 5:45 pm, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shuba with rocket weapons, inflicting direct hits.
3- At 6:40 pm, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Al-Radar site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with rocket weapons, inflicting direct hits.
– Western Sector:
1- At 6:20 am, after careful monitoring and anticipation of movements by “Israeli” enemy forces, the Islamic Resistance fighters planted several explosive devices in the area of Tal Ismail, adjacent to the border with occupied Palestine within Lebanese territory. When a unit belonging to the Golani Brigade crossed the border and reached the location of the devices, they were detonated, resulting in casualties among them, leaving them dead and wounded.
2- At 4:55 pm, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a gathering of “Israeli” enemy soldiers in the vicinity of Metat barracks with appropriate weapons, resulting in casualties among them, leaving them dead and wounded.
3- At 5:00 pm, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the deployment of “Israeli” enemy soldiers in the woods of Hanita with rocket weapons and artillery shells, inflicting direct hits.
At the heart of the Axis of Resistance is the struggle for a free Palestine, and all unfolding events are interconnected to serve that larger goal. (Illustrated by Hady Dbouq for Al Mayadeen English)
The escalating confrontations in the West Bank are intricately linked to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Axis of Resistance’s support for Palestine, and Iran’s retaliatory operation, True Promise.
In recent months, the West Bank has witnessed a disturbing trend: a surge in attacks by settlers targeting Palestinian individuals and villages. While this pattern of aggression is not novel within the context of “Israel’s” policy of ethnic cleansing, its intensified manifestation, often concealed under the pretext of incidents such as the disappearance of a settler near Ramallah, underscores the volatile aftermath of Operation al-Aqsa Flood.
Amidst this backdrop, the launch of Operation al-Aqsa Flood emerges as a watershed moment that reaffirms the cause of Palestine as a central Arab and Islamic one, especially amid the existing critical juncture on the global scale.
Though carried out by the al-Qassam Brigades, this operation is like a sprout from the deep roots of the ongoing battle for Palestine’s freedom, led by what has become known as the Axis of Resistance.
Spanning from the Mashreq to the Maghreb (Orient to the Occident), across the breadth of the Arab and Islamic worlds, the events unfolding in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and throughout occupied Palestine have ignited a widespread response. These developments have set off a chain reaction, leading to escalations not only within the West Bank but also beyond, fueled by “Israel’s” “campaigns between wars.”
This campaign precipitated Iran’s remarkable retaliation following an Israeli assault on its consulate in Damascus. Understanding these unfolding events requires contextualizing them within the broader geopolitical landscape, where regional power dynamics intersect with longstanding conflicts and resistance movements.
Israeli settlers expelled under Resistance fire
Since October 7, the Israeli government has made public the displacement of over 250,000 Israeli settlers from their settlements. These settlements, largely constructed on land ethnically cleansed of its indigenous Palestinian and Arab communities, have become targets of Resistance operations spanning both northern and southern regions of occupied Palestine.
In the south, particularly in the Gaza envelope, where Palestinians besieged in the Gaza Strip once resided, a comprehensive evacuation has taken place after the Palestinian Resistance breached the Israeli separation walls and entered the settlements before showering its vicinity with missiles that have even reached “Tel Aviv” on multiple occasions.
The evacuation has significantly reduced the presence of settlers along the borders of the besieged Strip. Many settlers have relocated to central “Israel”, while others have scattered throughout the occupied territories. Some have chosen to return to their countries of origin, primarily in Europe or the Americas, based on their nationality prior to settling in “Israel”.
In the north, Resistance operations, spearheaded by Hezbollah and other factions, compelled Israeli settlers to evacuate settlements bordering Lebanon by a depth of 5 to 8 kilometers as reportedly revealed by Israeli journalists and Resistance sources.
While unprecedented since the so-called inception of “Israel”, these evacuations were anticipated. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah previously underscored that in the next war with “Israel”, settlers would be forced to abandon their settlements, and while this is not even a widescale war, his words proved to be true once again. This strategic shift aims to bring the conflict to “Israel” rather than allow “Israel” to instigate hostilities against Lebanon, as it did in 2006 and 2000.
As Israeli deterrence erodes, it becomes increasingly apparent to settlers that they face an irreversible choice: either leave occupied Palestine or occupy another Palestinian home elsewhere in occupied Palestine.
Making up for what was lost on October 7
Israeli settlers faced a new reality following October 7, even vis-a-vis their daily life. Displaced settlers are now facing declining living standards after having initially migrated to “Israel” in pursuit of the material gains they had been promised once they settled in
Instead, settlers are now struggling, not even to preserve their privileges against indigenous Palestinians, but to merely meet their daily needs as they lose their homes and the rest of the material gains they were promised at a time when the IOF has clearly failed to achieve any of its goals in the Strip or across the Northern Front – another issue which eliminates hope for Israeli settlers that things could get better in the foreseeable future.
IOF-backed Israeli settlers attacked several villages and towns in the occupied West Bank on Saturday and opened fire on Palestinians and their properties.
Among the villages targeted by the settlers were Duma, Baytin, Turmusaya, Atara, and Deir Dibwan east of the Ramallah and… pic.twitter.com/s8iawFvFyH
Moreover, with the erosion of Israeli deterrence, settlers, once assured of their superiority over other regional powers such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran, to name a few, now seethe with fury at their expulsion from territories they occupied during the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 Six-Day War. This resentment has boiled over, leading to a surge in attacks on Palestinian residents of the West Bank, surpassing previous levels of violence and reoccurring at a more frequent rate.
Simultaneously, Israeli occupation influencers-turned-government officials like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have spearheaded efforts to arm all settlers, going beyond the usual military program enforced upon Israeli settlers. The arming, which came under the guise of “fighting terrorism”, aims to revive historic terrorist Zionist organizations such as the Haganah, which conducted the initial Nakba in 1948, killing hundreds and thousands of Palestinians on purely racist grounds to occupy their homes and lands.
It’s crucial to recognize that “Israel’s” ethnic cleansing policies, which intensified notably after the events of Seif al-Quds in 2021 and further escalated following October 7, have emboldened settlers to perpetrate the same crimes of genocide as the Israeli occupation Forces are conducting the Gaza Strip [Over 33,000 martyrs] and the same crimes as the Haganah did in 1948.
Since Friday evening, Israeli settlers have been storming several towns of the occupied West Bank, vandalizing and setting houses and vehicles on fire and physically assaulting Palestinian civilians. pic.twitter.com/OMFa9ZwP0E
Next stop on the path towards liberation: West Bank, East Bank
Looking for alternatives as the Israeli cities become overcrowded and the economy crumbles, settlers go stealing Palestinian homes and ethnically cleansing entire villages to accommodate their needs. This is not new, as we all remember the Israeli proverb put forward by the settler Yacob: “If I don’t steal it, someone else is gonna steal it.”
The killing of Palestinians and the destruction of their homes by settlers, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, is fueling anger among the Palestinian people. This anger is exacerbated by the Israeli occupation government’s continuous announcement of new land seizures, extending over dozens of dunums in the West Bank, and even in al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah.
Coupled with widespread detention campaigns, assassinations, military raids, and other oppressive practices, this situation is pushing people toward embracing armed Resistance as the only means to achieve a free Palestine and live with dignity.
It is also important to note that in the West Bank, the Resistance has already begun establishing liberated zones, particularly across the triangle of hell: Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm. However, recent settler attacks have targeted areas in the Ramallah and Nablus governorates, farther from the refugee camps where the Resistance has garnered strong popular support and found a conducive environment to thrive.
This escalation is likely to ignite a widespread intifada across the West Bank, to expand the operation that was launched on October 7, bringing the war to the heart of occupied Palestine. This is especially likely given that the settler attacks are being conducted under the supervision of the IOF who have besieged multiple cities. These aggressions remain ongoing today, four days on, without stopping except when the Iranian missiles shook “Israel”.
The consequences of such an intifada, given its existential nature, may also provoke unrest across the East Bank of the Jordan River, where approximately 80% of the population is Palestinian.
Iran’s retaliation in context
In turn, Iran’s retaliation can be seen in the context of the West Bank and the historic struggle for the liberation of Palestine and the ending of Western hegemony in the region. This retaliation on Israeli-occupied Palestine consolidated the Axis of Resistance as a series of interconnected rings that had both the military capability and the strategic patience to coordinate operations to achieve a unified goal of an Israeli demise and ultimately US containment in the region.
As such, Iran’s successful cornering of the US and “Israel” in a well-calculated, below-threshold, but fully effective response, has underscored a new era in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.
This new era grants the Palestinian Resistance a larger margin of operation and limits if not ends “Israel’s” renowned “Campaign Between Wars” which was started in 2013 to “address Iran’s growing threat” following the start of the war on Syria. This means that Israeli deterrence has fallen even deeper than it has on October 7 with Hamas and on October 8 with Hezbollah and later in the face of Yemen and others.
To better understand the depth of that, one must look at Iran’s unprecedented retaliation against “Israel” following an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. The retaliation, in fact, underscored the strategic maneuvering at play within the Axis of Resistance.
It stressed that beyond its primary objective of Palestinian liberation, this coalition seeks to dismantle the enduring legacies of colonialism and imperialism, epitomized by pivotal agreements like the Balfour Declaration, which allowed for the establishment of the Israeli occupation as a barrier “state” on occupied Palestinian soil with the aim of expansion and the Sykes-Picot Accords which partitioned the region into multi-purpose entities that serve colonialism.
Amidst escalating tensions and deepening geopolitical fault lines, it is impossible to understand unfolding events without delving into the complex and multifaceted dynamics of the existential war taking place at the heart of the Arab world; the war of the unmaking of the Sykes-Picot Accords.
In a more simplified way, one can explain the broader situation by saying that the Axis is determined to give the US and “Israel” a run for their money in the region. The Resistance movements in the region, backed by Iran and Syria, have one big mission: free Palestine and take down those pesky imperialist structures that have been causing trouble in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Keep the big picture ahead, save your rage for the right time
Despite the ongoing genocide in which “Israel” has been targeting unarmed civilians, the Resistance continues to stand strong. It continues to conduct ambushes unimaginable by the Israeli occupation forces claiming their lives a dozen at a time.
As the leaders of the Palestinian Resistance have reportedly underscored, be it al-Qassam Brigades or al-Quds Brigades or others, Iran and the Axis of Resistance, especially Syria and Hezbollah, have played a key role in strengthening and transferring expertise to the Strip.
Much like in the Strip, the Axis of Resistance has no intention of allowing the West Bank and its Resistance to be wiped out and has a few tricks up its sleeve to turn the table on “Israel” and the West.
In this context, it must be remembered that the struggle to liberate Palestine extends beyond the entity of Palestine as drawn by the Sykes-Picot Accords but involves the re-emergence of the historic Arab world with Palestine as the compass that has the ability to achieve that through the demise of the barrier “state” otherwise known as “Israel”.
In such situations, events unfold relatively quickly; however, there is no benefit in rushing liberation. Rather it is required to mature slowly in the sense that it becomes inevitable.
In this picture released by the official website of the Iranian Army on, April 20, 2023, Shahed-136 suicide drones are seen in a military compound in Iran. (AP)
Hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles are reportedly heading toward Israeli-occupied territories, according to Israeli media.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force announced that it targeted Israeli positions in occupied Palestine with dozens of drones and missiles, as part of the retaliatory response to the malicious Israeli crime against the Iranian embassy in Syria.
Described as “unprecedented”, by a Sky News correspondent, the IRGC’s Aerospace Force announced that the operation dubbed “Truthful Promise” was launched in the context of “punishing the criminal Zionist regime.”
The force said that the operation came “in response to the numerous evil crimes of the Zionist regime,” including the attack on the embassy. It said that its forces, supported by other units of the Iranian Armed Forces, launched the “wide-ranging” military operation.
The statement added that the operation was conducted with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council and under the supervision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the backing of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces.
“Details of this operation will soon draw the attention of the heroic Iranian people and the free peoples of the world,” the statement concluded.
Later the IRGC announced that it targeted Israeli military sites that successfully hit and destroyed their targets.
At least three batches of drones and cruise missiles were launched toward Israeli-occupied territories, with another three batches of ballistic missiles launched toward targets, Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent reported.
Concurrently, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon – Hezbollah attacked the air and missile defense headquarters in the “Keila” barracks in the occupied Syrian Golan with dozens of Katyusha rockets.
So far, Israeli warning sirens have sounded in central occupied cities and al-Quds, concentrating in the southern part of al-Naqab desert which hosts essential Israeli military infrastructure.
Israeli media outlets captured moments in which swarms of drones and missiles were heading toward their targets in Haifa, Safad, and “Tel Aviv”. Moreover, aerial objects were also seen over the Israeli Knesset in occupied al-Quds.
For the first time since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip was launched, no Israeli aircraft were recorded flying over the besieged territory.
Supporters of the Resistance went out to celebrate the operation in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, multiple Iranian cities, Baghdad, and the occupied West Bank in Palestine.
Iran’s ballistic missiles impact their Israeli targets
Another video, reportedly from al-Naqab desert, showed multiple objects striking their targets.
IRNA said that an Israeli Air Base in al-Naqab was successfully targeted by the IRGC. The news agency added that the attacking jets launched to attack the embassy took off from the targeted Air Base.
Previous statements made by Iranian officials said that the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy was conducted via US-made F-35 fighter jets. Further investigation reveals that the F-35 fighter jets are stationed at the “Nevatim” Airbase in al-Naqab, due to operational reasons.
Israel media report on incoming swarms of missiles, drones
Meanwhile, Israeli media outlets reported that three swarms of attack drones were launched from Iran toward Israeli-occupied territories on Saturday night.
The spokesperson for the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) confirmed that dozens of drones were launched toward occupied territories. He said that Global Positioning Systems were also jammed across Israeli-occupied territories.
“A short while ago, Iran launched unmanned aerial vehicles from its territory towards the territory of the State of Israel,” the spokesperson said.
“The air defense array is on high alert at the same time as the Air Force planes and Navy ships that are on a mission to protect the country’s skies,” the statement continued as the situation develops.
The spokesperson stressed to settlers that “Israel’s air defenses” are not completely tight, asking them to abide by emergency instructions and protocols.
Three swarms of Iranian drones and missiles have reportedly been launched by Iranian forces toward Israeli positions, with the first swarm reportedly launched at around 8:00 pm (al-Quds Time).
On its part, The New York Times, citing US officials, estimated that Iran would try to synchronize the drone attack with faster-moving missiles, which would be launched later, explaining that the slower drones could be used to distract Israeli occupation “defense systems”.
According to a security source, the Israeli occupation government issued instructions that included entering fortified shelters more capable than those set for precision missiles.
Simultaneous drones, missiles attack set to confuse ‘Israel’s’ airborne ‘defense systems’: Bloomberg
A simultaneous attack with drones and missiles may confuse “Israel’s” anti-air system, as they may arrive at different speeds, altitudes, and directions, Bloomberg quoted a US official, who asked not to be identified discussing internal assessments, as saying.
A state of panic and anxiety escalated on the Israeli occupation home front, where strict measures were issued according to occupation security estimates, as Israeli media revealed that all Israeli politicians received orders to stay in “Israel” and cancel their travel abroad.
In this context, Israeli occupation forces spokesperson Hagari announced changes in the home front command that will take effect from 11:00 pm today, Saturday, and will continue until the same hour next Monday.
In detail, the measures, according to the spokesperson, include, “in the Gaza envelope, up to 100 people are allowed to gather in open areas and up to 300 people in built-up areas, and beaches are closed,” while in other settlements, only 30 Israelis are allowed to gather in open areas and 300 in built-up areas, while in other settlements, only 30 Israelis are allowed to gather in open areas and 300 in built-up areas.
In an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen, the Commander of the IRGC’s Navy, Alireza Tangsiri discusses Iran’s development as a world power, the efforts of the Axis of Resistance to champion and defend Gaza, and the fate of “Israel” and its allies.
Special coverage | The latest developments in the Al-Aqsa flood epic 04-09-2024
Al Mayadeen conducted an interview, which was broadcast on Tuesday, with the commander of the IRGC’s Navy, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri. You can find the full, translated text of the Admiral’s answers below:
I welcome you here, as well as our dear viewers, and welcome to the city of Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the Islamic Revolution’s victory, Washington imposed a complete embargo on Iran, which did not own any material capabilities at the time. Most of our equipment and arsenal were US-made. Later, they would embroil us in an inadequate war against Saddam’s regime, in addition to an abundance of internal conflicts. However, with the grace of God, we managed to persevere and move forward after eight years of war, which prepared us for the upcoming confrontations.
Despite the embargo, sanctions, and economic predicaments Iran was faced with, it was able to advance in multiple military fields, build up its combat strength, manpower, special military training, and manufacture its own equipment.”
“Right now, we are at a level that allows us to export weapons, including rockets, warships, and radars, to naval forces, defense ministries, and armed forces, and we take pride in this capability, which makes rocket and ship manufacturing possible amid the embargo. We also take pride in the size, speed, assimilation, and resistive characteristics of our home-produced ships, which expedites their abilities throughout maritime battles.”
“Today, after over 40 years, we have emerged as a world power, and are the primary decision-makers in West Asia, whether it’s derived from the quality of our manufactured equipment or the preparedness of our armed forces. Today, we are proud to say that Iran is at the forefrontin regional power, and produces all it needs to defend its sovereignty,” he said.
On ‘Israel’s’ crushing defeat in Gaza
Speaking on the genocide in Gaza, Tangsiri described “Israel’s” extensive war as “heinous crimes against the oppressed yet brave and resilient Gaza”.
He revisited the Israeli war objectives from the war and affirmed that the occupation did not manage to achieve a single one.
In detail, the Rear Admiral said:
“They claim three determinants for their success in Gaza:
1. Defeating Hamas, but Hamas is stronger than ever, and sustained fewer losses.
2. The people’s desperation and hopelessness; but look at the highly spirited people in Gaza, who have lost their homes and their loved ones but remained resilient and faithful. The Zionists failed to break Gaza’s defiant and steadfast spirit.
3. The swift elimination of Gaza; but the entire world opposes the Zionists today. The “army” that claimed to be the strongest in West Asia, and third strongest in the world, being supported by the US military with aid and developed weapons used in modern wars, employed to kill Gazan children, has failed to achieve victory, whether militarily, politically, or socially.”
When asked about how such an entity could be fought, Tangsiri stressed the importance of Muslim unity.
“The only way to fight the Zionists is through the formation of an Islamic power and a coalition of Islamic armies. To quote Imam Khomeini, may his soul rest in peace, If every Muslim poured a bucket of water on Israel, it would be washed away.Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Here, I speak to all Muslim nations that think they would attain greater glory by counting on the Zionists’ friendship. The solution to removing the corruptive and criminal parasite is the unification of all Muslim nations and their armies. If we were united, we could bring an end to it. But this is not what is happening. The Zionists are not only treating Muslims this monstrously but have also shown our Christian brothers and sisters no mercy.
They destroyed churches and massacred Christians in Lebanon. The Zionists are not merciful towards anyone, not even their own supporters.
Unfortunately, the Zionists are striking Muslims with warplanes loaded with fuel supplied by Muslim nations. This is a disgrace, and the solution remains in unity against Zionism to ultimately remove it from existence.”
Iran advocates security in region
Tangsiri also detailed the West’s interests in the region, specifically the United States, and emphasized that Iran has always sought peace and security in the spirit of good neighborliness. However, he did not shy away from condemning the actions Iran’s neighboring countries have undertaken, particularly inviting Zionists into the region.
During talks with neighboring countries regarding the Strait of Hormuz, our message has always been that of peace and friendliness. Iran suffered under the oppression of a tyrant, so it revolted and offered martyrs in the quest for victory, but since then, we have been faced with the enmity of those same countries, as well as the United States and more. The US Army has now come to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, but they do not belong in our waters. We previously told our neighbors that the Persian Gulf and Oman’s Sea are national concerns of both them and Iran and that Iran’s security is theirs. We told them the West does not want this region to be stable or secure. The West considers these countries as a “milk cow”, but when the milk runs out, as in oil and gas resources in the region, it would slaughter us.
“Therefore, we have always advocated for the security of the region, and have assured that we can host joint military exercises in the Strait, in collaboration with our brothers from the Persian Gulf’s neighboring countries. We can maintain the region’s peace and security. Our oil and gas terminals are close to those of the neighboring countries. If we really wanted to, we could close these waterways down.
But we do not do this, because as long as we use this waterway and strait, then our neighbors would also have to, and should. But they have to recognize that we will not accept the presence of Zionist supporters in their governments because this is considered a security threat to Iran. We hope they do not make such errors, and reconsider their choices. Should the enemy come and restrain us, and act provocatively in an attempt to incite change in the region, then that is a different issue, to which a different decision would be made, at a later time.
Zionists in countries neighboring Iran
He revealed that Iran is now the main proponent for security of the region and that of the Hormuz Strait, and the constant traffic of more than 85 tankers carrying oil and gas cargo that safely pass through the strait every day.
However, he revealed that the arrival of the Zionists to the region, and their settlement within countries neighboring Iran, does not speak to peace or good neighborliness.
“Iran has relations with Arab countries, and the seven nations of Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, but bringing Zionists to our region… We know full well that they do not come for economic purposes or to establish bilateral relations between those countries and the child-killing criminals the world has begun rejecting.”
“What does it mean for a country to take pride in welcoming Zionists to the region?”, he asked.
“What are we to understand from such a gesture to us, to a country whose sea spans the entire length of the Persian Gulf, to a country that has beaches in the sea of Oman, to a country with such glory and greatness? Should we not consider this a threat? Is bringing Zionists to a neighboring country not a threat? They should acknowledge that if harm comes in our country’s way, then the place they came from will cease to exist. If they [neighboring countries] were indeed looking for security, then they would know that there is no room for Zionists in the region.
“I assure you, once again, that we would not attack a Muslim country unless it attacked us… Before the Islamic Revolution’s triumph, Iran had a Ministry of War. Today, we have a Ministry of Defense instead, which signifies that we would not attack any country if we were not attacked or conspired against. Those who choose to conspire and attack us though, will receive a hard blow, just like Saddam and his movement did.
“Therefore, we do not make threats and do not accept threats. Sometimes, a threat is merely speech. The Zionists’ presence in neighboring countries, which we fully acknowledge is not for economic purposes, but rather military and security ones, is a threat that should not materialize. This is a consideration we should always keep in mind.
US forces present in our neighbors’ waters
On the role of the US in the region, Tangsiri affirmed that it is but a plot to incite rifts and destabilize the region and its peace.
The US forces, he stated, are not present in Iran’s waters or territory. However, they are unfortunately present in Iran’s neighbors’ waters, not international ones.
“The United States should realize that the Persian Gulf is not an international sea, but Iran’s and its neighboring countries’. The US does not sail in international waters strait passing through our islands. We are constantly monitoring them, their movements, actions, and behavior. Our naval mission, under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is to defend our facilities in the Persian Gulf. We believe that if they enter the region, with their nuclear equipment, then the waters would not be viable for use for years after. We would be the ones affected by their presence.
But it is of their nature to create enemies, why? First, for weapons. And for an excuse to sell weapons. If there was no enemy to fight, then the region would not need weapons. Second, to ensure their presence in the region… If they did not claim an enemy was present in the region, then they would not need to remain in it. If they did, then it would be unjustifiable.
“Therefore, the constant sales of arms and weapons and their illegal presence in the region necessitates their claim of Iran being an enemy to its neighboring countries. If one of these countries gets attacked tomorrow, they will set fire to this land, leave it, and leave us affected. Which is why we should all remain careful and wary.”
The Resistance’s Mission
When asked about the Axis of Resistance, its emergence, and its role in the region, the IRGC commander stated that the Resistance’s mission has always been to champion Palestine and its liberation against “Israel” and its allies.
“The Axis of Resistance has always responded to threats in defense of the Palestinian people, because their lands are occupied and because Gaza’s resilient people are oppressed. We had never seen a people as resistant as that of Gaza. Countries backing the Zionists should be ashamed of themselves. The US supplied the Zionists with special bombs, which were dropped on women and children in Gaza. France, Britain, and others rushed to back the criminal, dirty, malicious, and child-killing Netanyahu… I do not know, are they really human? Do they call themselves human? A little child in fear, and shaking like that… a torn up child and a mother holding her children… I saw a father holding his martyred children in his hands… These countries are only helping this criminal. I believe the blood of over 14,000 children and women and all those innocents will seek retribution for their sins and will be the reason for “Israel’s” demise and end.
Their message was clear: Defend the occupation. And they announced the reason for their presence in the region in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. If you recall, in the early days of the war, a US aircraft carrier traveled through the Strait of Gibraltar and remained stationed in the Mediterranean.
What is the message it is carrying? That it intends to defend the Israeli occupation, which marks an eternal disgrace for them [the US]. The United States, in all its might – as it claims – and capabilities, and Britain and its capabilities, as well as France… They all came to murder innocent people. How could they raise their heads high as a moral army? Every army has pride, but it comes from respecting and adhering to the laws of war. But this is not a war. This is a people, in a very small land, surrounded and defenseless. But God is with them, and through Him, they will prevail.
At the start of this interview, I noted that the Zionists are so far defeated, and have not achieved any of their war objectives. Did they retrieve their captives? No. Did they destroy Hamas? No. Were they able to achieve their goal of victory? No, they did not emerge victorious, defeat Hamas, or release the hostages. So, they lost. It has been six months. And we cannot forget that six Arab Muslim nations did not achieve victory in the six-day war,” the leader reiterated.
Yemen, Hezbollah role in war
During the interview, Tangsiri was also asked about Yemen and Hezbollah’s role in the war against “Israel”.
To that, he stated that Hezbollah today is heroic, it is far stronger than it was at the beginning of the war, but until this moment, Hezbollah has not responded to the Zionist enemy, and were it to respond, it would have been an onslaught. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had previously announced that Hezbollah’s response would be fierce. Yemen today is much more solid than before, and Iraq and Iraqi Hezbollah are far stronger than before… The Resistance movements that surround the Zionist entity are the more powerful…
He called for trust in the Resistance, saying, “Do not worry about the Resistance; it is today capable of doing everything, and it is far stronger than it was in the earlier days of the war.”
Attack on Iranian consulate
Commenting on the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, he denounced the deliberate airstrike and highlighted the West’s hypocrisy in that regard.
According to Tangsiri, this crime did not happen in any other war. Embassies are meant to be safe places and are considered the territory of their respective countries. In that embassy, there were not only military advisors, but also women, children, and men.
“This attack is a crime. First of all, if we had done this, which we would never have, they would have strongly condemned us for committing such a crime. Look at the world, at the Europeans who watch these crimes and support themost corrupt people, and at the US which plays a very democratic and liberating role… We expected the United Nations to confront this crime more firmly, but they paved the way for us to do away with this ugliness.”
He also reaffirmed that Iran intends to respond to “Israel” for its crime.
“As our dear leader said, it will be responded to, but we do not act impulsively or hastily. We are not the kind of people who turn the other cheek after being hit. At the appropriate time, the relevant officials will deliver a strong blow, God willing. At the head of our armed forces is a scholar who knows God, is patient, wise, and rational and logically governs the Iranian armed forces. We act and respond when we see fit. But we will definitely respond, and as the leader said, we will not leave the matter unanswered.
“We are a force ready for battle. We are military men. We are ready for any mission they order us to carry out. Do you expect me to say what we will do? That is not correct. We are 100% ready for any order that may be issued. Today, the naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and our heroic army are ready to pluck out the eye of anyone who wants to harm our country and will carry out the orders that may be issued at the appropriate time.”
Western powers have brought in their ships to support the occupation, but the brave Yemenis withstood against them. As our leader said, if Yemen was not under siege, we would have certainly aided it. Yemen today produces its own artillery, missiles, and boats, and is standing strong against the enemies, against the US and Britain, in support of the oppressed people of Palestine and Gaza.
Glorious Yemen
Discussing Yemen’s development as a Resistance power as well, Tangsiri said that after eight years of an imposed and harsh war against the country, Ansar Allah, and the Yemeni Army, it has now reached a level where it can confront great powers such as the United States.
He said that Ansar Allah is manufacturing missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and has established a naval force, despite the embargo and sanctions imposed on the country.
Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi affirmed that they could target the West’s ships, even if they were in Southern Africa. Today, Tangsiri said, Ansar Allah is targeting ships 600, 700, and even 1,000 kilometers away. Day after day, Ansar Allah keeps developing its capabilities. There are brave men taking control of the force and defending their country.
He stressed Yemen’s independence from Iran despite being allied and part of the Axis of Resistance, against claims that Resistance factions in the region serve as Iran’s proxies.
“Yemen is an independent country, and the Resistance is an independent force that was born to crush oppression. Yemen and its Resistance do not wait for our orders, but we are indeed concerned with the Resistance.
“We love the Palestinians, and we support anyone who takes a stance against oppression and struggles in the fight for the cause. We saw injustice in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and although we did not have common borders with them, and their population included both Muslims and non-Muslims, we helped them and offered them moral support, and never fell short in the help we could offer. We stand with the oppressed. We love and appreciate the men of the Resistance in Yemen, and take pride in them. The Islamic world must take pride in them. They do not need a force that leads them, because they have a leader. Just like Hezbollah has a leader, and Yemen and Iraq have leaders, and they act based on their interests. They have enough wisdom to know when and how to act.”
The Final Message
Before concluding the interview, the IRGC admiral called on Muslim nations, specifically those neighboring Iran, and said ‘Life is fleeting, and if we do not defend those that are oppressed, we will be asked about it on Judgment Day. I am addressing Muslim leaders who own the means of governing. Take the opportunity, because while Christians and followers of other religions protest in solidarity with Gaza, it is a disgrace that Arab countries do not hold such marches and protests.’
I also wish to address the leaders that are fueling the Zionist enemy’s jetplanes… [How can] they take our oil and turn it into fuel for a bomb they drop over the heads of Muslims who say ‘There is no god but God, God is great, and God is sufficient for us’? Are they not the people that are dropping bombs on Gaza’s people? The war will end, and God willing, The people of Gaza will emerge victorious. But what have we offered during this time?
“We ask God to raise the martyrs of Gaza and the Resistance, whether in our dear Lebanon, dear Iraq, or dear Yemen, to where the prophet of God and his holy Imams rest.”
In his last address to the Al Mayadeen crew conducting the interview, he expressed his thanks, saying “I profoundly thank you, particularly for coming here twice. Forgive us for the warm weather, and perhaps the circumstances were more difficult for you, but we fully know that your cameras are important, and powerful, just like Al Mayadeen. It is the voice of the oppressed, and you represent their voices. God willing, He will note what you have done for the oppressed, and you will hold your heads high before the Resistance’s martyrs and the oppressed people of Gaza.”
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Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed on Monday that the Israeli folly of striking the Iranian consulate in Damascus and assassinating the top military advisor General Mohammad Reda Zahedi and his martyred companions pushed the US President Joe Biden to impose certain limits on Netanyahu’s adventure in Gaza.
Sayyed Nasrallah cited Zionist analysts as describing the airstrike on the consulate as a major folly, adding that the Israeli officials may have fallen in the miscalculation that Iran would not respond.
US, ‘Israel’ and the whole world have yielded to the fact that Iran has the right to respond to the Zionist crime and will respond, Hezbollah Chief said.
In this regard, Sayyed Nasrallah explained the nature of the Iranian military role in Syria, confirming that only advisors are deployed in order to carry out certain missions and denying the deployment of troops.
His eminence added that the IRGC military advisors in Syria have been always targeted by the Israeli air raids aimed at expelling them and eradicating their role in that country.
Sayyed Nasrallah noted that all the diplomatic missions in the world include military attaches and advisors, yet that the Israeli enemy tried to promote the false claim of striking Iranian troops in Syria.
One of the Gulf states provided Saddam Hussein with 200 billion dollars to fund his war on Iran, Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that, had such an amount of money been granted to the serious resistance groups, ‘Israel’ would not be in existence nowadays.
The need of the popular resistance to face the the Zionist enemy made the IRGC cadres train the fighters, provide consultations, grant the logistical support, and convey the expertise to all the resistance groups, according to Sayyed Nasrallah who confirmed that the IRGC advisors were not tasked with fighting the Israeli enemy in the battlefields.
Even upon the eruption of the crisis in Syria, Iran sent military advisors, not troops, Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that only resistance groups in the region decided to support Syria in face of the terrorist groups.
‘Israel’ participated in the war in Syria through supporting the terrorist groups by all means, according to Sayyed Nasrallah who recalled the Zionist financial, medical, and military support to takfiri groups.
Sayyed Nasrallah also denied the false claims that Iran controls the government in Syria, stressing that the IRGC advisors have just supported Syria against the terrorist groups.
Martyr Zahedi
In his twenties, Hajj Zahedi was one of the warriors against Saddam Hussein’s war and gained a great military expertise, which enabled him to be promoted to high ranks, according to Sayyed Nasrallah.
Hajj Zahedi became the commander of the IRGC airforce before turning to be the commander of the IRGC ground troops, Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that the martyr was then promoted to be the commander of all IRGC operations.
Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that Hajj Zahedi started his jihadi journey when General Qassem Suleimani appointed him as the IRGC commander in Lebanon and Syria in 1998 for four years.
Hajj Zahedi followed up the liberation in 2000 and the period of preparing the military capabilities to face any Zionist aggression on Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said.
“We expected that the Zionists will take the revenge and wage a war on Lebanon.”
After the martyrdom of Hezbollah military commander Hajj Imad Mughniyeh in 2008, Hajj Zahedi was appointed to be the IRGC commander in Lebanon and Syria for six years, Sayyed Nasrallah said.
After the martyrdom of Hajj Qassem Suleimani in 2020, Hajj Zahedi was appointed again as the IRGC commander in Lebanon and Syria till he was assassinated, Sayyed Nasrallah added.
Sayyed Nasrallah underlined the modesty, baldness, loyalty, and bravery of Hajj Zahedi, noting that he used to attend the scene amid all conditions.
Sayyed Nasrallah narrated how Hajj Zahedi was committed to the path of martyrdom, adding that the martyr wanted to join the resistance fighters in their border battle against the Israeli enemy since October 7.
Hezbollah Chief said that Hajj Zahedi abandoned all ranks in Iran and came to the jihadi field in Lebanon in order to embrace martyrdom.
Israeli War on Gaza
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah cited Israeli interpretations of the outcomes of the Zionist war on Gaza, stressing they highlight the enemy’s area in this regard.
Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that the Israeli interpretations mention the various failures of the Zionist enemy after six months of the war, including the prisoners issue, missile fire from the Strip, Rafah operation, deaths, evacuation of settlements, diplomatic collapse, economic complication, political and social woes.
Sayyed Nasrallah also cited a survey conducted by Maariv which indicated that 62% of the respondents are not satisfied with the outcomes of the war.
Out of context, Netanyhau claims that he is one step away from the victory, Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that the Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant alleged that his troops defeated Hamas just hours before the Zionist withdrawal from Khan Younis.
“Gallant is also detached from the realities.”
Sayyed Nasrallah said that the IOF managed only to commit a genocide and cause a massive destruction and failed to reach any target.
Sayyed Nasrallah maintained that, amid this military failure and the Iranian consulate folly in Syria, Biden held a phone call with Netanyhau to warn him against the continuation of the war on Gaza.
According to the White House statements and the US media, Biden asked Netanyahu to take certain measures pertaining to the killing of the relief workers, Sayyed Nasrallah said.
Just hours later, the IOF Chief of Staff sacked two officers and rebuked three others, Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that even the aid corridors issue was decided during the phone calls, according to the US reports.
Hezbollah Chief emphasized that the US administration’s conduct proves that it can force the Israelis to stop the war whenever they decide, highlighting the major role of Biden in the ceasefire talks.
Sayyed Nasrallah considered that the Israeli military withdrawal from South Gaza was surprising, adding that the Israelis wanted to avoid making concessions in the ceasefire talks since the withdrawal is one of the basic terms of Hamas in the negotiations.
Hermes-900
Hezbollah leader stressed that, when the Islamic Resistance downed Hermses-450 drone, the enemy bombed Bekaa, adding that the Resistance responded by firing missiles at Golan.
Bekaa-Golan formula has been maintained since then, Sayyed Nasrallah maintained.
Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that the Islamic Resistance will certainly cross the Israeli red lines amid the Zionist violations, adding that the enemy would understand the deployment of the Resistance defenses on the Southern Front as it wants.
Lebanese Forces and Kataeb
On the anniversary of the civil war in Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah asked the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb about the war’s decision making at that time.
Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that such political always question the resistance about the war decision making and its costs, while they involved Lebanon in a costly civil war.
Sayyed Nasrallah also commented on the kidnap incident in Jbeil city, adding that Lebanese Forces and Kataeb’s reaction is a scandal.
Sayyed Nasrallah maintained that grudge, foolishness and connections with foreign schemes have been behind those parties’ anti-Hezbollah accusations.
Sayyed Nasrallah hailed the role of the Lebanese army and security forces in uncovering the culprits in the crime, which frustrates the scheme of accusing Hezbollah of being behind the kidnap crime and stirring sedition.
Sayyed Nasrallah, finally, warned against the threats sent to some of Jbeil locals after the kidnap incident, asserting that this is a very serious issue.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed on Friday that Iran’s retaliation for targeting its consulate in Syria earlier this week is inevitable.
In a masss ceremony marking International Al-Quds Day in Beirut’s southern suburb (Dahiyeh), Sayyed Nasrallah said that the Israeli folly committed in the Iranian consulate in Damascus will lead to victory and enable the Axis of Resistance of having the final word in the battle.
The Lebanese resistance leader dismissed Israeli threats of waging an inclusive war against Lebanon, saying: “They (Israelis) don’t know what to do in Gaza and want to attack Lebanon!”
His eminence, meanwhile, reiterated that Hezbollah is fully ready to confront any Israeli war on Lebanon, stressing that the resistance never fears the war.
Sayyed Nasrallah assured that after six months of the war on Gaza, the Israeli enemy faces failures and is neither capable of destroying Hamas nor capable of releasing captives captured by the Palestinian resistance during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
He stressed that Op. Al-Aqsa Flood is a critical juncture that has put the Israeli existence in danger.
Iranian Retaliation
Starting his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah offered condolences over martyrdom of top IRGC generals in the Israeli strike which targeted the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus last Monday.
He lauded top general Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was martyred in the Israeli strike, as a commander who had favor upon Hezbollah and contributed to the development of the Lebanese resistance.
Sayyed Nasrallah announced that a ceremony will be held next Monday (April 8) in honor of the Iranian generals martyred in the Israeli strike on the Islamic Republic’s consulate in Damascus.
“The attack on the Iranian consulate is a pivotal moment in this battle.”
His eminence then elaborated on Iran’s support to Al-Quds and Palestine, saying that founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Sayyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini had a clear and firm stance towards the Palestinian cause.
He noted that the Islamic Republic’s unwavering support to Palestine is one of the prominent causes behind the wars waged against Iran.
“The Islamic Republic offered enormous sacrifices on economic, political and security levels because of this position.”
Sayyed Nasrallah then lashed out at those who claim that Iran is engaged in talks with the United States on several files regarding regional issues.
“The US has repeatedly voiced desire to hold talks with Iran but the Islamic Republic was reluctant. Iran has not compromised and will never do so on the regional issues.”
“Relation with Iran is a source of pride, those who must feel ashamed are those who seek to normalize ties with the Zionist entity,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed.
Video subtitled by Mohammad Salami
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed then that “Iran’s retaliation to the Israeli strike on Syria consulate is inevitable.”
“The folly committed by Netanyahu through targeting the Iranian consulate in Syria will hopefully lead to end this battle and emerge victorious.”
“The timing of the Iranian response is part of the battle, but the timing, place and size of the response are in the hands of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian leaders.
Israeli Failure in Gaza
Sayyed Nasrallah noted that “International Al-Quds Day is different this year as it comes six months after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7.
He described the heroic operation in which hundreds of Hamas resistance fighters invaded Gaza envelope settlements and captured more than 200 Israelis as a “a critical juncture that has put the Israeli existence in danger.”
The Hezbollah leader stressed that six months after the brutal Israeli war on Gaza, Zionist officials are not able to secure the goals they had set at the start of the aggression.
“Six months following the war, (Israeli PM Benjamin) Netanyahu, (DM Yoav) Gallant and other Israeli officials are still out of their minds.”
Nasrallah to Netanyahu: whether or not you go to Rafah you have lost the war. No Israeli military objectives were reached in six months, and they hide their own casualties. https://t.co/MUwK7MwLWCpic.twitter.com/fqHpfx97M5
“Netanyahu has no choice but to stop the war, and this is a mere defeat.”
Resistance Fully Ready
Sayyed Nasrallah, meanwhile, hit back at Israeli threats of an inclusive war against Lebanon. He dismissed such threats, wondering how the Israeli would attack Lebanon if they already don’t know what to do in Gaza and how to deal with failures there.
His eminence stressed that the Lebanese front “won’t be closed as it is highly linked to Gaza,” affirming that “this is a firm decision.”
He stressed that the Resistance in Lebanon is fully ready and its morale is in large sense.
“We haven’t used our major weapons yet. Our fighters are going on their home leave as usual.
“The Resistance in Lebanon doesn’t fear war, we are fully ready to engage in a war that the enemy will regret.”
“The enemy knows well what a war with Lebanon means, if they want war then hello and welcome!”
Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed that the resistance in Lebanon we will proceed with this battle until victory, stating: “Great victory is awaiting the Axis of Resistance.”
Nasrallah to Netanyahu: whether or not you go to Rafah you have lost the war. No Israeli military objectives were reached in six months, and they hide their own casualties. https://t.co/MUwK7MwLWCpic.twitter.com/fqHpfx97M5
Sayyed Nasrallah, meanwhile, hit back at Israeli threats of an inclusive war against Lebanon. He dismissed such threats, wondering how the Israeli would attack Lebanon if they already don’t know what to do in Gaza and how to deal with failures there.
His eminence stressed that the Lebanese front “won’t be closed as it is highly linked to Gaza,” affirming that “this is a firm decision.”
He stressed that the Resistance in Lebanon is fully ready and its morale is in large sense. “We haven’t used our major weapons yet. Our fighters are going on their home leave as usual. “The Resistance in Lebanon doesn’t fear war, we are fully ready to engage in a war that the enemy will regret.”
“The enemy knows well what a war with Lebanon means, if they want war then hello and welcome!”
Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed that the resistance in Lebanon we will proceed with this battle until victory, stating: “Great victory is awaiting the Axis of Resistance.”
“Six months on the war, Netanyahu is neither capable of destroying Hamas nor capable of releasing the captives,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, stressing that the Israeli atrocities carried out in Gaza are out of failure and lack of options.
“The Israeli enemy has no idea about the post-war scenario in Gaza, Netanyahu has no political horizon. He can neither solve Israeli internal problems, nor deal with the political isolation the Zionist entity faces worldwide.
“Netanyahu has no choice but to stop the war, and this is a mere defeat.”
🔴LIVE: Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivers speech on Intl. Quds Day #QudsDay2024https://t.co/KnBvXK77Az
‘Israel’ Fails to Intercept Hezbollah Drones, Dozens of Rockets Pound Golan
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 