Hezbollah leader: ‘Historic opportunity for criminal occupiers to leave’

The following remarks were made by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Jan. 5, 2024, and published on Resistance News Network:

Since October 8, we have entered into combat with the enemy in the south over a stretch of more than 100 km.

The Islamic Resistance executed 494 targetings, including 50 border points targeted more than once.

The Islamic Resistance also targeted technical and intelligence equipment along the border, completely destroying them.

“Israeli” soldiers fled from the sites towards the settlements, fearing the advancement of the fighters towards the sites and their occupation.s

A large number of vehicles and tanks were destroyed along the border.

The operations were very draining for the enemy, who practiced extreme secrecy on their large losses.

The enemy does not acknowledge any killed or wounded, which is part of their policy of general secrecy about their losses.

Experts in the entity say that the losses of the enemy’s army are three times more than the announced numbers.

In eight hospitals in the north alone, the statistics show that there are more than 2,000 wounded soldiers.

What is happening on the northern front is a true humiliation of the enemy’s army.

The Islamic Resistance did not target the inhabitants of the settlements, although they are occupiers. The displaced from these areas exert pressure on the government of the occupation.

From the beginning, we stated that the objective of the front in the south is to pressure the government of the enemy to stop the aggression on Gaza and to relieve the burden on the resistance there.

We are facing a real opportunity to liberate every inch of our Lebanese land and prevent the enemy from violating our borders and airspace.

‘The battlefield will respond’

Regarding Netanyahu’s statement about Hezbollah’s tent: This is stupidity, ignorance and foolishness to talk about the tent. Talk about 48 border sites being destroyed, 11 rear sites being destroyed, 17 settlements being attacked, 50 enemy border points and your soldiers hiding like mice.

Is the resistance, which carries out this scale of operations every day, really deterred? The tent is a thing of the past; today, there is a real war on the borders.

When targeting occurs in Lebanon, particularly in the southern suburbs [Dahiye], we cannot accept such a significant and dangerous breach.

The killing of Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri, a friend, a beloved and a dear person with whom I had a high degree of friendship, love, understanding and comprehension, I tell you for certain: this will not go unanswered or unpunished.

We will not use the phrase “in the appropriate time and place.” The battlefield will respond, and this response is inevitably coming. We cannot remain silent over a breach of this gravity, because this means that all of Lebanon, the cities and the figures will become exposed.

The magnitude of the evils resulting from remaining silent over this breach is greater than any risks that may come from the response. Therefore, the decision is for the battlefield.

The U.S. is concerned about the expansion of the war in the region, because it has no interest in it.

The United States does not want to expand the war, as it is preoccupied with the Ukrainian front and is preparing for a strategic defeat against Russia.

Today, there is an opportunity to rid Iraq of the presence of U.S. forces and to expose the U.S. narrative of fighting “ISIS.”

The U.S. operates “ISIS” in Iran and then claims they have no relation to the bombing in Kerman. It is your creation that committed it.

Who is activating “ISIS” today in Syria? Look to the U.S. forces, who are nurturing “ISIS” in Syria, providing support and releasing its members from prisons.

The opportunity for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq today will be followed by the withdrawal of U.S. forces from east of the Euphrates, and this is one of the national blessings of solidarity with Gaza.

Today, there is a historic opportunity in front of the Iraqi people for these criminal occupiers — these killers who spilled the blood of Iraqis, Syrians and Lebanese and who are full partners in all the crimes currently being committed in Gaza, Palestine and Lebanon — to leave.

A salute to the families of the martyrs

Those who belittle the actions of the Axis of Resistance today are the ones who have contributed nothing since the aggression began on Gaza.

The silent and failing regimes were surprised by what the Yemenis did in the Red Sea.

Sana’a’s stance has led many Yemeni factions to reconsider their position towards Ansarallah.

The government of Sana’a and Ansarallah are no longer just an internal faction but a part of an international equation that the world stands before with great attention.

The massive turnout in Yemen is a message to the United States: You are not facing a government or a faction but tens of millions of the Yemeni people with a history full of victories and inflicting defeats on aggressors.

To the families of the martyrs of the Islamic Resistance: If not for my security circumstances, what I wish and hope for is to stand beside you and to kiss your hands and foreheads.

To those steadfast in the frontline villages and the environment that pays the direct price with their homes and livelihoods, this is a patient environment, accountable, insightful and knows what this battle means.

O our people in the south, if it had been decreed for the enemy to defeat the resistance in Gaza and displace its people, the turn after Gaza would be in south Lebanon, specifically south of the Litani. You are the ones who broke their ambitions.

To the fighters, we salute them with respect, appreciation and honor and pray for their steadfastness and victory. May Allah guide their aim and all their shots, and may He help them to create this victory for Lebanon, Palestine and the entire nation.