Sayyed Nasrallah: 'Israel' to pay with blood for civilian deaths
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Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah underlines that the Israeli occupation's crimes in southern Lebanon will be responded to in kind and that Hezbollah will not only strike military sites.
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Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks on a screen via a video link during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the martyrdom of Hezbollah leaders, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, February 16, 2024 (AP)
The Israeli occupation will pay with blood for its killing of civilians in southern Lebanon, as this is a sensitive issue for the Resistance and a red line that was crossed, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during a speech on Friday to commemorate the fallen leaders of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.
"The aggression on Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh is a momentous development in the ongoing confrontation because it targeted civilians," he underlined, stressing that the Israeli occupation killed civilians intentionally.
"The enemy will pay with blood for its shedding of our women and children's blood in Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh," he stressed.
"Civilians are a sensitive issue, and the enemy must understand that it has gone too far if it gets to killing our civilians," the Lebanese Resistance leader affirmed, noting that the occupation deliberately killed civilians to force the Resistance to halt its operations, as "all the pressures exerted since October 7 had the goal of shutting down the southern front."
"Bombing 'Kiryat Shmona' with dozens of Katyusha rockets and several Falaq missiles is a preliminary response," Sayyed Nasrallah underlined.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah continued on Thursday targeting Israeli military sites and settlements in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the Palestinian Resistance, as well as in response to the Israeli occupation's attacks on Lebanese villages and civilian homes in southern Lebanon.
The Islamic Resistance issued a brief statement announcing that its fighters targeted the Israeli settlement of "Kiryat Shmona" with dozens of Katyusha rockets as an initial response to the massacres in Nabatieh and al-Sawaneh.
Furthermore, the fighters of the resistance targeted the Samaqa site with missiles, with several direct hits confirmed.
The Islamic Resistance also declared that its fighters, using suitable weapons, attacked espionage equipment at the Marj, al-Raheb, and al-Naqoura locations in addition to the Ruweisat al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms.
While lamenting the loss of civilian life, Sayyed Nasrallah went on to underline that military casualties were a natural part of any battle of liberation. "We are at the heart of a battle that spans over 100km, and the martyrdom of Resistance fighters is part of this battle," he said.
As he went on to vow that the Resistance would retaliate against the Israeli occupation, he said the response to the massacre in southern Lebanon "must be an escalation in jihadist work on the battlefront," warning the Israeli occupation that the Resistance has a massive missile power that would allow it to strike Israeli targets from "Kiryat Shmona" all the way to "Eilat".
Capitulation is not an option
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed the minority calling for the Resistance to halt its operations and allow for the continuation of the bloodshed in Gaza, saying capitulation "bears a great, devastating cost that could even become existential."
"Capitulation means subservience and humiliation, and it will allow for violations of our elders, our youth, our women, and our property," he explained.
In a similar vein and in light of the Arab and Islamic worlds allowing Gaza to be violated as they stood idle, Sayyed Nasrallah asked: "Is it not humiliating and a symbol of weakness that entire states ruling over 2 billion Muslims are unable to administer medicine and food to the people of Gaza?"
Speaking further on internal Lebanese issues, he pledged that the Resistance's arms "are not to be used for altering the Lebanese political regime or constitution and imposing a sectarian status quo in the country."
Moreover, he said the Resistance's arms "are to protect Lebanon, and the land borders are demarcated; the only way any negotiations take place will be on the basis of exiting our Lebanese soil."
"The US is preventing the Lebanese Army from having adequate arms and missiles for defending Lebanon and deterring any aggression on it," he added.
US to blame for the bloodshed
If an investigation is opened into October 7, Sayyed Nasrallah said, "the basis for the moral and legal pretexts Netanyahu and Biden are using for their goal of destroying Hamas will collapse."
"Many people have fallen for the historic Israeli false narrative regarding October 7, including countries that claim to be friendly with Hamas," he said. "The Palestinian Resistance has been subjected since October 7 to the worst humiliation and smear campaigns any Resistance movement has been subjected to in our contemporary history."
"The worst case of hypocrisy witnessed by the world today is the stance of the US administration regarding what is going on in Gaza," he further said, noting that if Washington were to stop arming the Israeli occupation, "the war on Gaza will stop whether Netanyahu wills it or not."
"The United States is more insistent than "Israel" on the destruction of Hamas," Sayyed Nasrallah added, holding the US responsible for "every drop of blood in the region, while Israeli officials are mere tools used in this bloodshed."
"[Israeli Security Minister Yoav] Gallant has nearly gone mad," he jokingly said about the Israeli official. "He's talking about [striking] 50km [deep into Lebanon] and [striking] Beirut. It appears that he forgot that the Resistance - he might be [having a mental breakdown] and he forgot, although we have addressed this several times - has major precision missile capabilities."
Resistance sole option
"The Resistance in Lebanon and Palestine broke Israeli deterrence and destroyed its image while shifting the balance of power by establishing a deterrent," he added.
The Israeli occupation's goal of the siege on Gaza prior to October 7, was to kill all of Gaza silently while the world stood idle.
"The goal of the Israeli occupation is to expel all the people of the West Bank to Jordan, the people of Gaza to Egypt, and the people of the occupied Palestinian territories to Lebanon," he underlined.
"It is our responsibility to prevent the displacement of Palestinians, which requires a major confrontation," he added.
"No matter how much we praise it, we will not be able to describe the legendary Resistance in Gaza and the historic resilience of the people of Gaza," Sayyed Nasrallah said, commending all Gazans for their steadfastness.
Further stressing that the Lebanese Resistance was acting in solidarity with the people of Palestine, he said: "The Israelis and Americans did not think that the Resistance in Lebanon would have the bravery or the will to launch a front in support of Gaza."
"Our goal in the Axis of Resistance as peoples, states, and Resistance fighters was and will remain the defeat of the enemy," he said. "The enemy's defeat is by foiling its plans," he further stressed.
"The goal of the Axis of Resistance is inflicting the largest amount of losses on the enemy during this battle to force it to withdraw," he explained.
Finally, commenting on the ongoing negotiations between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation, Sayyed Nasrallah said, "The parties involved in political negotiations are the Palestinian Resistance factions that delegated Hamas, and we have no hand in the ongoing talks."
