Islam Times - Hezbollah Official: Fighters Confronting “Israeli’ Forces Bravely, Enemy to Be Defeated

Hezbollah Official: Fighters Confronting “Israeli’ Forces Bravely, Enemy to Be Defeated

Islam Times - Speech by the Head of Hezbollah’s Media Relations Unit, Hajj Mohammad Afif:

{Allah has decreed, “I and My messengers will certainly prevail.” Surely Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty.}

I take this opportunity to praise the steadfast Lebanese media professionals in the south, especially those who convey the reality of the situation on the ground to the people and to the world and display the enemy’s crimes against civilians and civilian facilities everywhere in Lebanon, especially in the southern suburbs of Beirut [Dahiyeh]. I especially praise several free Arab and foreign journalists who are among us amid the war and tragedy, sharing our pain and hope and the story of resistance and steadfastness.

I will not miss the opportunity to make a quick comparison between the strict “Israeli” military censorship of the media in the enemy entity, including the major international media institutions that are openly sympathetic to the enemy but do not even dare to criticize the military censorship itself, let alone tell the enemy to stop its false narrative, the killing of civilians, attacking a country, and destroying lives, the economy, and infrastructure.

As for us, that is, the country under aggression, it is unfortunate that some of our media outlets broadcast the “Israeli” news without scrutiny, believe the “Israeli” narrative without professional scrutiny, and adopt its reading and narrative of the battlefield situation and the aggressive bombing. The Lebanese media outlets broadcast live the threats of the enemy’s Chief of Staff or the official spokesman for the occupation army and contribute to publishing more and more of his news, pictures, and media comments within the framework of the enemy’s psychological war against the resistance and Lebanon, in addition to the continuous incitement against the resistance, its people, and its allies.

Unfortunately, the government is not acting, nor is the Ministry of Information or the National Media Council. The pretext is always freedom of press. Is there freedom even in a country of public freedoms without laws? Is it logical for those falsely called activists or media professionals to mention the names of specific villages and say that there are resistance officials in them or houses containing weapons and ammunition and incite the enemy to bomb them? Is it press freedom to incite against hospitals, civil defense relief teams, and ambulances? Is there preemptive incitement and creating a pretext for the enemy to carry out another Baptist Hospital massacre? Where are the Minister of Justice, the Public Prosecutor, the competent judges, and the Cybercrime Bureau?

I seize this opportunity and your esteemed presence to say the following:

1. The enemy continues to bombard Dahiyeh, and the violent raids on it are ongoing, targeting its buildings and the homes of its residents. It is nothing but the instinct to kill and brutality. As for the flimsy excuses of the presence of weapons depots, they no longer fool anyone. However, there are no international institutions that monitor or hold accountable, and no international public opinion has weight or influence. It bombs Dahiyeh with timed missiles that explode after the end of the raids to give the impression of [the presence of] weapons depots and mislead public opinion. It prevents rescue operations for those trapped under the rubble, as it did in Mreijeh. It bombs paramedics and ambulances and prevents the Ministry of Public Works' machinery from filling the hole on the Masnaa road with malicious American collusion and pressure led by the American ambassador in Awkar.

2. It is a crime against humanity. However, in light of American hegemony over the world, who will prosecute those for crimes against humanity? The aggression against dear Beirut yesterday, its people, and our people, of whom we are an integral part, is a continuation of its condemned crimes in all parts of the country, which led to the martyrdom of a large number of civilians under flimsy and false pretexts that it fabricated to justify its new crime, because its original goal is killing and destruction.

3. We condemn the aggression against the United Nations forces in the south as well as their headquarters and facilities. However, we ask about the behavior of the United Nations and the international community towards this dangerous aggression that are represented by some timid statements of condemnation. This behavior confirms that the enemy is not concerned about international resolutions or international forces. Didn't the representative of the Zionist entity at the United Nations tear up the United Nations Charter publicly in the General Assembly Hall and in front of its members who did not lift a finger? Can we remember that a group of our civilians were killed under the tent of the United Nations and its blue flag in the Qana massacre in 1996. What deters this enemy from its crimes is force and resistance, not the international community or international resolutions.

4. I said during the media tour in Dahiyeh 10 days ago that the strike on Tel Aviv is only the beginning, and what happened in the past few days in Haifa and its surrounding confirms that we are still at the beginning. To the enemy, I say: you have only seen but a fraction [of our might].

5. On the battlefield, especially on the southern front, the resistance is fine. It is managing its range of fire and the timing of its salvos in a manner consistent with its reading of the field and its objective circumstances. Its strategic stockpile is fine. Thousands of Karbalai martyrdom fighters are at the peak of readiness and the highest levels of preparedness defending Lebanon. They are ready for fierce fighting to avenge the blood of our most sacred martyr. The enemy has so far been unable, despite bringing in more divisions and brigades, including elite forces, to advance on land except in specific cases. Its tanks are still positioned in the rear and do not dare to advance. If you hear or see some enemy soldiers in this or that village or old or new pictures of this or that tunnel, do not worry and do not let your morale weaken because the resistance will not engage in a fixed local defense, but rather a flexible defense in line with the requirements of the front and the circumstances of each spot in it. It will set up ambushes, use explosive devices, carry out encirclements, and move with great flexibility from defense to offense, inflicting the heaviest losses on the enemy. It has gradually begun to acknowledge this and has repeatedly pushed it to retreat and re-evaluate the situation on the front, which contradicts its calculations and estimates. However, I would like to tell you that the resistance refuses to withdraw from the positions that we consider having fallen militarily, which is pointless to keep defending.

6. There is a lot of talk on television, front pages, and behind the scenes of politics about rushing political results inside Lebanon. Netanyahu was frank about that when he spoke with the French president. This is what began to be revealed gradually about the true American intentions towards Lebanon, and some of it is reflected in the American press. Some local politicians have met them and disgusting phrases and ugly terms which need not be mentioned now have surfaced. Here I would like to say:

a. The battle with the enemy is still in its early stages. It is too early to talk about political investment. Do not rush, do not burn your fingers, or you have never learned the lessons of the past. Always remember that the “Israelis” never work in your interests, but rather for their own interests.

b. We are not in 1982 when “Israeli” tanks reached Beirut and changed the political equations and tore apart the Lebanese social fabric. Rather, we are as if we were in the first days of the July War when people rushed to issue final judgments about Hezbollah’s defeat before realizing their mistake. They returned to their senses as the war ended and Hezbollah emerged victorious.

c. Our absolute priority now is to defeat the enemy and force it to stop the aggression. However, any internal or external political effort to achieve this goal is appreciated as long as it is consistent with our comprehensive vision for the battle.