Speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the ninth night of Ashura

I take refuge in Allah from the stoned devil. In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Most Merciful. Peace be on the Seal of prophets, our Master and Prophet, Abi Al Qassem Mohammad and on his chaste and pure Household and on his chosen companions and on all messengers and prophets.

Brothers and sisters! Peace be on you all and Allah's mercy and blessing.

I will divide my speech into two sections. I will talk for a while about the end of the heroic confrontation which took place in Gaza. The second section will be on the topic for tonight as brief as possible Inshallah.

With utmost clarity, certainty, and confidence, we can again say that blood gained victory over blood. We are before a true victory. Now we do not want to talk about slogans, emotions, and feelings. However, if we were to evaluate, examine closely and scrutinize the dimensions and minute details of what took place, we may say with utmost clarity and conviction that we are before a new victory in the time of victories.

Indeed first we must felicitate the Palestinian resistance on this great achievement. We felicitate the resistance leaderships, men and people in Gaza. We felicitate all its movements, factions, battalions and brigades as well as all the Palestinian people within occupied Palestine and abroad. We felicitate all the honorable in this nation and all the honorable in this world who believe in Palestine and who view Palestine and the sanctities as their central concern. They also look forward for the day Palestine will be liberated and purged from the impurity of the Zionist occupiers.

This felicitation is for everyone because the people of the resistance themselves announced that this victory is for Gaza, the people of Gaza, the resistance and for the entire nation.

We supplicate for Allah Al Mighty and pray to Him to have mercy on these martyrs, bless all the wounded with recovery, and bestow patience on the agonized families. May Allah Al Mighty also enable our brethrens and dear ones in Gaza Strip to reconstruct what was demolished and to carry on the track of resistance which they took long years ago.

However, I have something to say to all who carry on arguing. You know that in the Arab world, there are people who are not ready to acknowledge the victories of the resistance movements. That means even if there is a crystal clear victory, they still argue it.

However, based on experience and the status of the media, I may tell you that it is enough to look at the faces of the trio – Netanyahu, Barak, and Liebermann – when they held the press conference in which they announced the truce. Look at their faces. Were these the faces of victors or gloomy, indignant, defeated and vanquished faces? We are talking about forms now. We are talking from the perspective of the media. It is a clear scene which recalls into the memory the faces of Olmert, Livni, Peres and others following the end of July War.

Let's tackle the announced targets of the latest operation or war on Gaza. I mentioned on the first night that the Israelis benefit from previous experiences. Thus they did not put high goals. They did not say they want to crush the resistance in Gaza Strip. So they did not raise the ceiling. They did not say they want to ruin the authority and the government of President Ismail Haniya. They did not say they will reoccupy Gaza Strip and absolutely exterminate the resistance and the will of the resistance. Never! They did not propose these targets. They went to lower targets which they believed they could achieve. They thought that they would simply following the operation hold a press conference and say: We gained victory because the announced targets of the operation were achieved. However, even this did not take place.

Looking at the announced targets of the operation, let's say whether these targets were achieved or not. This tells whether it was a failure or a victory for Israel. It's not the resistance which launched the war on Israel to say whether the resistance achieved its goals through the war it launched and consequently talk about a victory or a defeat for the resistance. We must tackle the Israeli side. Israel launched the war on Gaza. Consequently, if the targets which the Israelis announced were achieved, they would have gained victory. If they were not achieved, the Israelis would have failed and flopped. The true aim of the resistance was to frustrate the goals of the enemy. It even went further as it has imposed its conditions.

The targets which the enemy announced were:

The first goal was to destroy or liquidate the leadership structure of the resistance in Gaza Strip. Was this goal achieved? No.

True the martyrdom of leader martyr Ahmad Jaabari is a great loss; however, following the martyrdom the war started and we are to count what inflicted the leadership structure of the resistance movements during the war? Anyway, this asserts that the resistance which lost a martyr with such a status could fight with competence. I want to assert that the resistance movements in Palestine, in Lebanon, and in the region are not anymore limited to definite persons, leaders, or leaderships no matter how great and influential these martyrs and senior figures are. The experience of the resistance movements now lead to this conclusion.

The second goal – as the Israelis said – was to destroy the resistance rocket system in Gaza. Were they able to achieve this goal?

No! The evidence is that that resistance could all through the days of fighting launch a daily average of 200 rockets, some of which reached Tel Aviv and Al Qods.

This is very important. Gaza Strip is a small flat area which is open before the eyes of the enemy from the sea, land and air, and raids were launched on it. Still the resistance men could launch 200 rockets daily. Those who know in military affairs know how great this is.

So the rocket system remained intact to a great degree. The resistance's ability to run this rocket system also proved its continuity and competence.

The third goal the Israelis tackled was restoring deterrence – i.e. frightening the people of Gaza and the resistance of Gaza so that the Israeli enemy could later be able to assassinate, kill and carry on the siege and do whatever they want without meeting any reactions from Gaza. That means restoring deterrence. Was this goal achieved? On the contrary, the deterrence power which existed before the aggression on Gaza became weaker. It retreated and was afflicted and damaged to a great degree. The Israelis themselves acknowledged that.

For example, the Israelis wanted to claim through the operation the security of the residents of the settlements in the surrounding of Gaza Strip with a radius of forty kilometers. What was the result? The people of Tel Aviv and Al Qods and all those who live within a radius of 70 to 80 kilometers from Gaza lost security. Shelters were thus opened. Commerce, industries, business and tourism were crippled.

Today we can absolutely say that the self confidence of the resistance, the confidence of the people of Gaza in the resistance, the confidence of the Palestinian people in Gaza, the ability of the resistance to defend, deter, make victory, and impose conditions became greater than before the operation. On the other hand, the level of confidence of the enemy's society in their government and army decreased compared to the level before the operation.

Indeed, this confrontation needs much time to talk about its lessons, morals, results and achievements whether on the level of the military and field struggle, on the political level, on the moral level, on the Palestinian level and its impact on the Palestinian street and the unity of the Palestinian forces which were on serious disagreements or on the level of achievements at the Arab and regional levels.

In the limited time I have, I would like to tackle some of the achievements which are linked to the military and moral sides.

Brothers and sisters! This confrontation or war has proved again the saying which was first articulated years ago and which says that the Israeli air force is not more able to put an end to a battle from air. This was said in July War 1993, April 1996, and July 2006 in Lebanon and in 2008/2009 war in Gaza. Today again this is being said. Now let's make a record. This experience is the fifth between the resistance and the Israeli enemy. This experience says that no matter how great the Israeli air power is and no matter how high its technology is, it is unable to put a decisive end to a battle, or impose political and field conditions on the resistance movements.

Second, through this experience, it appeared how awesome the enemy's government and leaders are from resorting to a land operation and a field confrontation. This is clear. I told you the other night that this is psychological war. In fact, when they hold a big stone that means they will not throw it.

When they announced they will call for 75 thousand reserve soldiers, it was clear that the aim from this call is psychological war. I assert to you that the enemy's leaders were afraid and scared from resorting to the choice of land confrontation. This still exists and is still valid. Anyway, they have failed in all land confrontation with the resistance all through 30 years; the latest defeats were in July War in 2006 and also in Gaza in 2008/2009, and their losses were great; still they could not achieve any results.

A third result is that Israel which has always been able to fight, gain victory, spread fear, defeat and impose its conditions is now with its confrontation with the resistance movements in a status in which it feels that neither international covering nor its armed forces are providing it with a true protection or sense of defense. Thus it is obliged to resort to agreements with the resistance movements which it dubs as terrorist groups starting with July Agreement in 1993, April Agreement 1996, to the consecutive agreements with Gaza Strip, until reaching the latest agreement. This is indeed a very important indicator.

See brothers and sisters! At the beginning of the battle, the enemy leaders said that this war will not come to an end before Gaza starts begging. What was the result? Israel started begging while Gaza did not beg at all. This battle was viewed from its very first moments a battle of finger biting in which the one who shouts first would be the loser. The Israelis were the first to shout. Even more, Gaza imposed its conditions. It did not accept an appeasement or a ceasefire of any kind. Thus the following point is that the victory of the resistance in Gaza was not achieved only on the level of crippling and frustrating the goals of the enemy, it also mounted to the level of the resistance imposing its conditions in the appeasement. It also refused the conditions of the enemy.

Going back to the announced text, we find some of the conditions which the resistance has always been demanding. For example, we mention opening cross points, facilitating the movement of people and goods, not restricting the movement of people or targeting them in border areas, and dealing with the procedures of executing this 24 ours after the agreement is put into effect no matter whether the Israelis will execute this clause or not. Mentioning this clause and the Israeli approval on it is an achievement made by the resistance.

On the contrary, among the Israeli conditions were always that the resistance in Gaza pledges to stop arms smuggling and things of this sort. This was not mentioned in the agreement.

Thus, the first victory for the resistance is that it frustrated the targets of the enemy. Its greater victory is that it did not respond to the conditions of the enemy. Its greatest victory is that it imposed its conditions on the enemy. This is a great lesson.

One of the achievements of this confrontation – as our Palestinian resistance leaderships said – is that Gaza Strip is no more a point of weakness when they talk about the resistance axis.

For the first instance, the Israelis deemed Gaza weak. However, following this confrontation, the Israelis are afraid and diffident from Gaza. They now take Gaza into consideration. Thus it is true to say that one of the achievements of this confrontation is that Gaza Strip is no more a scapegoat, and that the war on Gaza is no more a trip and that a terrestrial war on Gaza has become extremely ruled out.

One of the achievements of this confrontation is that we all understand and that all the peoples of the region understand and that the enemy understands the following result: If you – the military and political leaders of occupying Israel – failed in a confrontation with the besieged Gaza Strip, oppressed Gaza, Gaza which smuggles arms and rockets with much difficulty, and Gaza which is absolutely disclosed, if you were defeated in the confrontation with this Gaza, what would be the case if you were to confront others who have better conditions on more than one level? This is a moral and a lesson to be taken into consideration.

The last remark or lesson or achievement I want to tackle in this summery is that this experience asserts anew that in confronting the Israeli military supremacy and the Israeli great financial, military and capacities and number of soldiers, the element which secures a balance is the popular resistance movements which depends a different kind of armament, a different storage of arsenals and rockets, a different technique in rocket platforms erection and a different way in using these rockets and shells and confrontation even on the terrestrial level.

The resistance movements could secure this balance – balance of terror and balance of deterrence – and consequently restore morals, confidence and feeling the ability to confront, impose conditions and humiliate the enemy. This is the moral. This is a new experience which is to be added to the previous experiences and which is to be taken into consideration by all those who are searching for a national defense strategy in any country in the world.

Indeed there are many achievements and evaluations which must take place on more than one level – on the Palestinian, Arab and international levels. However I will stop here tonight. Renewing the felicitations on this great victory to our people and dear ones in Gaza Strip and to our dear Palestinian people and to the noble nation, I renew may call for further scrutinizing and examination to draw more lessons from this heroic experience.