Nasrallah speaks: Hezbollah reveals the sites and thinking behind strikes on Israel

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah set the record straight on the tall claims made by the Zionists about their "pre-emptive" strike on Lebanon this morning.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has revealed that the Lebanese resistance delayed its response to the July 30 killing of commander Fuad Shukr by Israel as it awaited the outcome of the ceasefire negotiations between the Palestinian resistance and the Zionist occupiers of Palestine. He said that his militia targeted the Ein Shemer and Glilot bases — the latter houses Israel’s military intelligence base Aman and the notorious surveillance outfit Unit 8200 — adding that the intent was to target Israeli military wings “related to the assassination operation, either an intelligence base or the air force, and that the target be very close to Tel Aviv.” The Glilot base is a mere 1,500 metres away from the Israeli capital.

Nasrallah was speaking in the aftermath of strikes on several Israeli facilities today in retaliation for Shukr’s killing along with several civilians when the Jewish supremacist state targeted a residential building in Dahiye, southern Beirut, in late July. Nasrallah named the operation the “Day of Arbaeen” after the auspicious day for Shi’a Muslims. The day marks the end of the 40 days of mourning for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and a seminal figure in Shi’a Islam.

Hezbollah’s attack on Israel began on October 8 with the Lebanese resistance announcing the opening of a support front for the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. Instead of making overtures for peace and bringing an end to their genocide of the Palestinians, the Israelis have continuously increased the intensity of their attacks in Gaza and Lebanon and have been on an assassination spree of top Hezbollah commanders. Shukr was the highest profile Hezbollah official to have fallen to the Israeli attacks.

Nasrallah underlined that his resistance’s “goal from all this front and sacrifices is to stop the war on Gaza.” He went on to add that his fighters will continue to put up their front in support of the besieged Gazans, no matter the circumstances. “We will not abandon Gaza and its people, Palestine, and the sanctities of the nation in Palestine, no matter the circumstances, challenges, and sacrifices. Any hopes of silencing the support fronts are futile. What we started 11 months ago, we will continue, no matter the intimidations and sacrifices.”

Rather ominously, Nasrallah added that Hezbollah will keep an eye on targeted bases of Glilot and Ein Shemer and if the results of their strikes aren’t up to scratch, they “reserve the right to respond until further notice.”

Locations of the military sites attacked by Hezbollah in today’s retaliatory strikes.

Here’s Nasrallah’s message in full (translated by Resistance News Network):

Today is the Arbaeen [fourtieth day since the martyrdom] of Imam Hussein on the 20th of Safar, which is a symbol of sacrifice, selflessness, rejection of injustice and submission, and the headline of the revolution until the Day of Judgment.

We extend our thanks to the Iraqi government and the hospitable Iraqi people for what they provide and spend in order to serve the visitors [to the shrines].

We draw attention to the presence of Palestine and Al-Quds [Jerusalem] on the road to Arbaeen, which indicates the presence of the event of Karbala in the Palestinian cause.

We extend our condolences to the dear Lebanese people and to all the pillars of the Lebanese state on the passing of Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss, who was a symbol of resistance, integrity and patriotism.

I address the audience of the resistance and its environment, that your patience and steadfastness have an impact in this world and the hereafter, God willing.

I address my steadfast and firm fighter brothers on the ground as firm as mountains, with thanks for their patience, steadfastness, firmness, and sincerity.

The enemy has reached this stage of escalation with Lebanon by targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut, killing civilians and the great jihadist leader, Sayyed Fouad Shukr, and the resistance has announced its intention to respond to this aggression to stabilize the equation.

The one who took matters in Lebanon and the front to this level of escalation is the Israeli enemy.

We will call today’s operation the “Day of Arbaeen” operation.

We were ready to respond since the first day of Sayyed Mohsen’s martyrdom, but as we said before, the response is part of the punishment, and we needed some time to study whether the Axis would respond as a whole or each front alone, and we waited to give the opportunity for negotiations because our goal is to stop the aggression on Gaza.

It was decided that we would conduct our operation individually for reasons that would become apparent with time, and that each party in the Axis would decide when and how to respond.

It is clear that the negotiations are long and Netanyahu has begun imposing new conditions on the resistance in Gaza. We waited until we gave the negotiations a chance because our goal from all this front and sacrifices is to stop the war on Gaza.

We have set controls for the response, including that the response should not be on civilians, knowing that we have the right to strike civilians or infrastructure, but rather that the target be military and related to the assassination operation, either an intelligence base or the air force, and that the target be very close to Tel Aviv.

We chose the day of Arbaeen of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) to carry out the operation this Sunday morning after the dawn prayer, following the necessary prayers and supplications by the fighters. The operation began at 5:15 AM.

The main objective of the Katyusha rockets was to engage the Iron Dome system, while the other weapon was the drone.

In today’s operation, for the first time, we launched a drone from the Bekaa region, and despite the long distance, it crossed into the occupied Palestinian territories. All the drones launched from the Bekaa crossed the Lebanese-Palestinian border safely towards the specified targets.

No launch platform was hit [by the Israelis] before the operation, and no drone launch sites were damaged either before or after the operation.

The specific military targets were the Aman military intelligence base and Unit 8200 in Glilot, and the other target was the air defense base in Ein Shemer.

Our data confirms that a significant number of drones reached these targets, but the enemy is concealing the facts. However, the coming days and nights will reveal the truth of what happened there.

We identified a set of targets near Tel Aviv that meet our specifications, including the Glilot base, which is a central base for Israeli intelligence and houses Unit 8200.

The Glilot base is located 110 km from the Lebanese border and only 1,500 meters from the Tel Aviv border, meaning it is in the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

We have placed the Ein Shemer base within our targeting range; it is 75 km from Lebanon and 40 km from Tel Aviv.

We targeted sites and barracks to exhaust the Iron Dome and its interceptive missiles, allowing drones to reach their targets.

The decision was made to target sites and bases with dozens of Katyusha rockets distributed across various locations.

All we intended to launch in this operation was 300 rockets, but we launched 340 rockets, and the enemy did not thwart anything.

The Zionist narrative about what happened is full of lies, reflecting the level of weakness in this entity.

The enemy’s talk about bombing strategic and precise missiles that were prepared to target Tel Aviv is nothing but lies upon lies. However, in this operation, due to clear and precise vision, we chose not to use these weapons.

None of the strategic and precision missiles were damaged.

Many valleys that the enemy considers to contain ballistic missile platforms and installations that could be destroyed were evacuated some time ago by a decision from Commander Sayyed Shukr, and what was bombed were empty or already evacuated areas.

Half an hour before the scheduled time of the operation, the Israeli forces began airstrikes in the south. They had no intelligence, but acted due to the movement of the fighters completing their mission.

We are facing an Israeli intelligence failure and a failure in pre-emptive action, and our operation was completed precisely as planned.

Today, we witnessed a scene that reflects the courage of the resistance when it made this decision.

The resistance made a decision and acted, causing the enemy to close Tel Aviv and the airports and open shelters merely because we used Katyusha rockets and drones. What would happen if we used more than that?

This is the first major operation conducted by the resistance in the absence of the great leader Sayyed Fouad, and there were no errors.

In their response this morning, the enemy did not dare to target civilians because there is a resistance and a resistance environment, and this is the equation that we re-established today.

The first phase was striking sites in the north with 340 rockets, and the second phase is the passage of drones of various types and sizes into the depths of the entity.

We will follow up on the outcome of the enemy’s silence regarding what happened at the two targeted bases, especially in Glilot. If the result is satisfactory and achieves the intended goal, we will consider the response operation to be concluded. If the result is not sufficient, we reserve the right to respond until further notice.

We will not abandon Gaza and its people, Palestine, and the sanctities of the nation in Palestine, no matter the circumstances, challenges, and sacrifices.

Any hopes of silencing the support fronts are futile. What we started 11 months ago, we will continue, no matter the intimidations and sacrifices.

Our operation today may be useful to the Palestinian side or the Arab side with regard to the negotiations, and the message to the enemy and the Americans behind it that any hopes of silencing the support fronts are disappointed hopes despite the sacrifices, especially on the Lebanese front.

We are a people who cannot accept humiliation or bow our necks to anyone, and our oppressed blood will triumph over the sword. We fight with reason, weapons, drones, and ballistic missiles hidden for a day that may come.

The enemy must understand and be very careful about the nature of Lebanon and the strategic changes.

Lebanon is no longer weak that you can occupy it with a musical band, but the day may come when we invade you with a musical band.

The Israeli confirmed the death of one soldier due to a Hezbollah strike on a patrol boat in Nahariya.

Many of the Palestinian resistance groups issued congratulatory messages for the successful operation by Hezbollah. Here are some of them.

Hamas:

We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), commend and congratulate the great and qualitative response carried out by the fighters of Hezbollah this morning against several vital and strategic targets deep within the Zionist entity, in response to the Zionist occupation's crime of assassinating the great jihadi leader, Sayyed Fouad Shukr, may Allah have mercy on him, as well as its ongoing crimes and aggression in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

We affirm that this powerful and focused response, which struck deep within the Zionist entity, is a slap in the face to the fascist occupation government and a message that its terrorism and crimes against the Palestinian and Lebanese people will not go unanswered and will not achieve its aggressive objectives and plans.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ):

We congratulate our brothers in Hezbollah for the attack they carried out deep within the usurping entity and their success in delivering bold and courageous strikes, affirming their steadfast positions and fulfilling their promises. These strikes have confirmed that the zionist enemy understands only the language of force and is deterred only by the blows of the resistance and the fighters.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP):

Hezbollah’s decision to respond was executed despite all the threats, intimidation, and U.S. military mobilization aimed at protecting the zionist entity and threatening our people and nation with aggression.

Interestingly, Hezbollah has labelled its strikes “first phase” of its retaliation which keeps open the possibility of more strikes in the future, something that Nasrallah alluded to in his speech.

Furthermore, Ansarallah and Iran have also promised retaliatory strikes for the Israeli aggression on their territories. The Israelis heavily bombed Yemen’s Hodeidah port last month and assassinated the Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil in early August.

While Nasrallah in his speech revealed that there was a consultation with the other resistance groups about a joint retaliation, they ultimately decided to go solo.

It remains to be seen what the Yemeni and Iranian retaliation have in store for the Zionists.

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