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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">We targeted the depth of the occupied territories: Sayyed Nasrallah</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">August 25, 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Hezbollah's
Secretary-General codenames today's response to the Israeli aggression
on Beirut's Southern Suburb and the martyrdom of leader Fouad Shokor
"Operation Arbaeen".</p><img src="cid:ii_m09xrfr50" alt="e4054fcb-38cf-40fa-a752-e813aba5acdf.jpg" width="454" height="257"><br><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,
during the ceremony honoring martyr Fouad Shokor (Screengrab/Al
Mayadeen)
</li></div></ul>
<p>The primary targets of today's operation - launched in <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-begins-response-to-assassination-of-martyr-fouad-s">response to the assassination of martyred Commander Fouad Shokor</a>
- were the central Glilot base of Israeli military intelligence Aman
section and Unit 8200 cyber unit, located near Tel Aviv, and the Ein
Shemer airbase, confirmed Hezbollah Secretary-general Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah. </p>
<p>Dubbing the response Operation Arbaeen in a speech today, Sayyed
Nasrallah reflected on the details of the operation and debunked Israeli
claims that preceded and followed it.</p>
<h2>Operation Arbaeen</h2>
<p>Sayyed Nasrallah explained that the codename Operation Arbaeen was
chosen deliberately as the world commemorates the Arbaeen of Imam
Hussein. He specified that the operation was set to commence after the
dawn prayer, after the Resistance fighters had everything set in place,
precisely at 5:15 am.</p>
<p>Concerning the delay in the response, he confirmed that the
Resistance was prepared to take action from day one following the
martyrdom of Commander Fouad Shokor. However, the delay was intentional,
serving as part of the strategy for punishment.</p>
<p>He stressed that the waiting period was also meant to allow the
Resistance to assess whether the response would be coordinated across
the Axis of Resistance or handled by each front individually and to make
way for the negotiations, as the ultimate goal was to halt the
aggression on Gaza.</p>
<h2>Why Glilot?</h2>
<p>Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted that the Glilot base is located 110 km
from the Blue Line between Lebanon and occupied Palestine and 1,500
meters from Tel Aviv's periphery, placing it just outside Tel Aviv. He
added that the operation's second target was the Ein Shemer airbase,
situated 75 km from Lebanon and 40 km from Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>He confirmed that "a significant number of drones hit their intended
targets, but the enemy is keeping all relevant details concealed, but
the days and nights will reveal the truth of what happened there."</p>
<p>Sayyed Nasrallah explained that the operation entailed two phases.
The initial phase was focused on targeting sites and barracks in
northern occupied Palestine with the hundreds of intended rockets to
exhaust and deplete the Iron Dome and interceptor missiles, which paved
the way for phase two, which saw the swarms of drones heading toward
their intended targets.</p>
<p>Regarding the guidelines set by the Resistance for selecting the said targets, Sayyed Nasrallah noted that they <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-vessel-hit-kills-soldier-during-hezbollah-s-response">had to be military</a>,
not civilian, directly related to the assassination of the martyred
leader, and located deep inside the occupied territory and close to Tel
Aviv.</p>
<h2>'Israeli narrative full of lies': Sayyed Nasrallah </h2>
<p>In response to the occupation's claims of thwarting an attack on Tel
Aviv, the Lebanese Resistance leader explained, "Our initial plan was to
launch 300 rockets in this operation, but we ended up launching 340,"
affirming that the enemy "did not thwart anything."</p>
<p>"What was planned was achieved to the fullest," Sayyed Nasrallah asserted.</p>
<p>He emphasized that the Israeli account of events was "full of lies,"
reflecting the inherent weakness of the Israeli entity. He pointed out
that no rocket launchers were targeted before the operation, adding,
however, that only two were struck, yet only after the operation was
completed.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the entirety of the drone launch platform remained intact both before and after the operation.</p>
<p>Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that "the enemy's claims about bombing
strategic and precise missiles that were prepared to target Tel Aviv are
sheer lies," stressing that the Resistance, with a clear and precise
strategy, had no intention of using such weapons in this particular
operation. Yet, this does not mean that the Resistance would not use
them in the future, or the near future to be more precise, according to
Sayyed Nasrallah.</p>
<p>He further pointed out that the sites targeted by the occupation
forces this morning on the outskirts of towns were either empty or had
been evacuated at the request of martyr Fouad Shokor.</p>
<p>Debunking Israeli claims of carrying out airstrikes that nipped
Hezbollah's operation in the bud, the Lebanese Resistance leader
affirmed that the enemy had no intel whatsoever, stressing that all its
raids an hour before the operation were the result of the natural
movement of the fighters on the ground in preparation for the operation.</p>
<p>Sayyed Nasrallah further debunked Israeli claims that the
Resistance’s intention was to target civilians, as he detailed the
aforementioned guidelines the Resistance followed in choosing its
targets, one of which is it not being civilian. </p>
<p>On Israeli claims that the military carried out preemptive strikes in
Lebanon, Sayyed Hassan affirmed that "all the raids launched by the
enemy did not target the area of operation" and that "this was nothing
less than an aggression," before adding that supposedly it was a
preemptive strike, "it did not have any impact whatsoever on today’s
operation."</p>
<p>In a related context, Sayyed Nasrallah noted that the Resistance
launched drones from the Bekaa for the first time, confirming that they
successfully crossed the borders into occupied Palestine despite the
long distance.</p>
<h2>Terms of completing the response </h2>
<p>Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that the Resistance would monitor the
outcome of the operation, especially amid the enemy's obscurement of the
truth regarding the two targeted bases.</p>
<p>"If the outcome is satisfactory and achieves the intended goal, we
will consider the retaliatory operation complete, but if the result is
not sufficient [as per the Resistance's terms], we reserve the right to
respond at a time of our choosing," he maintained.</p>
<p>Hezbollah's Secretary-General concluded that the Resistance will
remain steadfast in its support for Gaza, its people, Palestine, and the
nation’s sanctities, regardless of the circumstances, challenges, or
sacrifices, noting that today's operation “may benefit the Palestinian
side or the Arab side in terms of negotiations."</p>
<p>He emphasized that “the message to the enemy and the Americans behind
it is that any hopes of silencing the support fronts are futile, no
matter the sacrifices, particularly on the Lebanese front.”</p>
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