The Israeli occupation's assassination of Hamas deputy politburo leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon, is a flagrant and dangerous violation that will not go unanswered, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday during a televised speech.

Speaking during the memorial service of former Lebanese MP and the Executive Assistant to the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Mohammad Hassan Yaghi, Sayyed Nasrallah underlined that Hezbollah cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed. 

Speaking on the accomplishments made by the Resistance on the Lebanese front against the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon and the purpose for opening it all together, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that the Resistance and Lebanon as a whole are today "before a historic opportunity to liberate every inch of our land and establish a balance of power that prevents the enemy from once again violating the sovereignty of our country."

Read more: Hezbollah forces nearly a quarter-million Israelis to evacuate: WSJ

The Hezbollah chief underlined that the front was not opened with the liberation of southern Lebanon in mind, but it was merely a benefit that was garnered for the support of the people in Gaza, which is the real and sole reason behind the fighting on the Southern Lebanese borders. 

According to the Secretary-General of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, thus far, there have been more than 670 operations launched against the Israeli occupation in three months, with more than 48 military sites attacked over 100 km. Hezbollah also carried out 494 operations, on 50 Israeli reconnaissance sites valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since October 8, we engaged in combat with the enemy in the south across 100 km. The Islamic Resistance carried out more than 670 operations within 3 months, and 48 border sites were targeted more than once.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the memorial… https://t.co/fTMuUYzhBV

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 5, 2024

"Hezbollah has been attacking military sites and officers and soldiers, and if it were to attack houses, that would be in response to the attacks on civilians in southern Lebanon," Sayyed Nasrallah explained.

"The Israeli occupation's soldiers escaped to the settlements that have been emptied of their settlers and the vicinities of military sites out of fear of the Resistance factions and their operations against numerous military sites," he added.

"Hezbollah is obtaining top-tier, accurate intelligence in the form of photos and videos of the positions of the Israeli occupation's troops," Sayyed Nasrallah revealed, adding that the Resistance has managed to "destroy a large number of tanks and Israeli military vehicles, wherein the officers and soldiers are hiding today."

In light of the major losses they are suffering in the north, the Israeli occupation forces are imposing fierce military censorship regarding the casualties, the Resistance leader underlined. "Israeli experts are suggesting the death toll is three times that announced by the Israeli army."

The tally issued by the Israeli Health Ministry suggests that there have been 2,000 casualties recorded on the northern front thus far, which pushed one of the Israeli war ministers to describe what is happening on the northern border as "an Israeli humiliation," Sayyed Nasrallah said.

Read more: Hezbollah MP: Lebanese Resistance ready for all scenarios - Exclusive

In only 8 hospitals in the north, assessments reveal more than two thousand injuries, and the enemy's "army" is facing real humiliation in the north.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the memorial service of former Lebanese MP Muhammad Hassan Yaghi.… https://t.co/eFwz0EHFkB

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 5, 2024

Israelis went from being the invaders since 1948 to fleeing

Hezbollah’s leader highlighted a significant shift in the dynamics of the occupation, stating that since 1948, “Israel” has been the aggressor in Southern Lebanon, committing massacres and causing people to evacuate. However, today, it is the Israeli occupiers who are fleeing from northern occupied Palestine due to the Resistance’s operations. 
 
Addressing Israeli settlers, who are fearfully calling on their government daily to launch a decisive military action against Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated his previous warning against any such action, stating that it would be an extremely miscalculated and wrong decision, stressing that the settlers and the northern settlements would be the first to pay the price. 
 
In response to recent statements by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding deterring Hezbollah and the “disappearance of Hezbollah's tent near the Palestinian border,” he emphasized that the past is different from today and that the Resistance today is engaging in a real battle, pointing out how Israeli occupation soldiers near the Lebanese borders “are fleeing like rats.” 

The Israeli soldiers fled from the sites toward inner settlements, fearing that the Resistance fighters would advance toward the sites and occupy them.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the memorial service of former Lebanese MP Muhammad Hassan Yaghi.… https://t.co/34xYuMLF15

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 5, 2024

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In conclusion, Sayyed Nasrallah declared that, given that Lebanon’s southern front is already opened and Hezbollah is engaged in a military escalation with “Israel,” there is a historic opportunity for the complete liberation of every inch of the Lebanese land occupied by the Israeli entity, and establishing a balance of power that prevents any violation of the country’s sovereignty. 
 
Nasrallah's address sheds light on the evolving geopolitical landscape in the Middle East and the strategic calculations of various actors, emphasizing the complex interplay of regional conflicts and international concerns.

The goal behind opening a multifront war against the Israeli Regime 

In his speech, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a comprehensive overview of the prevailing regional dynamics, particularly focusing on the role of the United States and its strategic concerns in various conflict zones.
 
Hezbollah’s chief highlighted Washington’s reluctance to expand its military engagement and involvement in the Middle East due to being preoccupied with Ukraine. He highlighted how the United States and its allies have suffered a strategic defeat in the Eastern European country, citing NATO’s top soldier Jens Stoltenberg declaring a few days ago that bad news will be coming from Kiev soon. 
 
Expanding on that point, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that the United States today is facing a multi-front war, similar to that the Israeli occupation entity is facing, from Iraq to Lebanon and not ending in Yemen. 
 
He explained that this is part of the strategy Gaza’s regional allies adopted to force the US to end the Israeli war on the Strip. The purpose of this strategy is to leave Washington suffering from insecurity and instability in all parts of the region and remind it that deciding not to expand the war does not mean it is an inevitable consequence if the war on Gaza does not stop. 

Regarding the occupation entity, Sayyed Nasrallah clarified that the objective of igniting multi-fronts against Israelis serves the same purpose as doing so with the US. It aims to pressure the Israeli government, weaken it, and ultimately compel it to cease its aggression on Gaza. 

He stressed that this was especially true for the Lebanese Southern Front against Israelis, which aims to decrease the pressure on Gaza and its Resistance. 

Iraq can oust US occupation

Iraq today has a chance to get rid of the US occupation, Sayyed Nasrallah asserted as the Iraqi Resistance attacks US occupation bases in Syria and Iraq in support of the people and Resistance of Gaza.

"The US is concerned at a time when it is before a debacle in Ukraine [...] it is before a major strategic victory in Ukraine, and it does not want to expand the conflict in the region," he underlined, clarifying that this was solely because of its interests, not out of love for the peoples of the region.

"There is a historic opportunity before the Iraqi government, parliament, and people to oust the killers and occupiers who shed the blood of the people of Iraq and Iran and the remainder of the peoples of the region," he said.

The Hezbollah chief noted how the US occupation has been using the fight against ISIS as a pretext for the continuation of its occupation of Iraq. Sayyed Nasrallah further elaborated on this point by asserting that "Iraq today does not need the Americans to fight ISIS, for they are the ones sponsoring it in Syria, as well."

He went on to extend his condolences to the people, leadership, and clergy of Iraq, as well as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and al-Nujaba movement for the martyrdom of PMF top commander Abou Taqwa Al-Saidi, who was marted on Tuesday by a US bombing of the PMF headquarters in Baghdad.

The attack martyred the PMF senior officer alongside another martyr and injured six people.

Yemen part of international balance of power

The Arab regimes sitting idle and indifferently to all the suffering afflicting Gaza and its people were surprised by the actions taken by Yemen in the Red Sea, Sayyed Nasrallah said.

"It is a blessing that the Sanaa government is no longer an internal faction but has become part of the international balance of power that the world is cautious about," he added.

"The message sent from Yemen today is a message to the United States, one that tells Washington that it is not facing the Ansar Allah movement but rather tens of millions of the Yemeni people whose entire history is marked by defeating aggressors," the Resistance leader added.

"Yemen is gaining prominence in the Arab and Islamic worlds and the eyes of its friends and enemies by taking a stance on Gaza," Sayyed Nasrallah added.

Sayyed Nasrallah mourns top Hezbollah official

Talking about the late Mohammad Hassan Yaghi, martyr Abu Salim, Sayyed Nasrallah described him as a "revolutionary and an active figure in the region, starting from [his hometown] Baalbek," revealing that his first inspiration was Sayyed Moussa al-Sadr.

"We worked together for more than 40 years, progressing alongside the ranks together. It was our destiny to be together and work together at the early inception of Hezbollah in the Bekaa region when the leadership of the Bekaa region was established," he recalled.

He went on to say of his martyred comrade that he was steadfast and "followed the path of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, Sayyed Abbas Musawi, and Sayyed Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, leading to the historic leadership of Imam Khomeini."

He was "a supporter, an aide, a pillar, and he was always there to fulfill the mission in any of the positions along this journey. His presence was of utmost importance; he spent the majority of his youth and his life serving the people of the Bekaa region, who deserved all this loyalty he had given them."

At the end of his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah offered his condolences to the families of the martyred Hezbollah fighters, saying: "Had it not been for my security circumstances, I want to stand by your side and kiss your hands and foreheads [for the sacrifices you have offered]."

He also addressed the Resistance fighters currently engaged in the fight against the Israeli occupation, wherein he saluted them and prayed for their victory. Sayyed Nasrallah said, "I hope God aids them so that they can bring out, through all their blood and sweat, this victory for Lebanon, Palestine, and the entirety of the Muslim community (Ummah)."