Leader of Hezbollah Affirms Continued Resistance Against Zionist Israel

Op-Ed

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah spoke publicly today, 3 November 2023, starting about 3 PM Beirut time at a ceremony honoring the martyrs on the road to al-Quds. It was his first speech since the beginning of Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood that began on October 7, with much of the world paying close attention to what he said. 

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group heavily influenced by and financially supported by Iran and politically supported by Syria. It something like a "state within a state", and has grown into a powerful organization with seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and a satellite TV station, social services and large-scale military deployment of fighters beyond Lebanon's borders. It has both a paramilitary wing, the Jihad Council, and a political wing, the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament.

Nasrallah is not just Hezbollah's Secretary General but is also the spiritual and political leader of many Lebanese and is very influential among Shia Muslims. He is Hezbollah's the 3rd secretary general,  since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was murdered by Israel in February 1992.

Most of the world does not consider Hezbollah an Islamic terrorist force but rather a "legitimate socio-political force".

Hezbollah is an important factor in the resistance to Israel genocide of Palestinians because it has some 100,000 soldiers and up to an estimated 140,000 small missiles. It also has some advanced American weapons purchased from the Ukrainian mafia and captured from the CIA's terror groups (ISIS, ISIL, Al Qaeda, etc.) and weapons supplied by Iran. And it is not just Hezbollah's current forces that concern Israel but its ability to rapidly increase them. 

To date, Hezbollah's engagement with Israel has been restrained, with mostly attacks against Israeli military positions by drones and rockets from within Lebanon. The attacks may have given Israel something to think about it but have not dissuaded it from its continued attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. Lebanon as a nation cannot afford to go to war against Israel, but Hezbollah can, and Hamas itself is thought to have significant financial resources. 

According to Nasrallah, "Resistance had no other choice, the choice was to remain silent and wait for the death and loss of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa and the West Bank, or fight". 

In regards to the Israeli civilian deaths he stated "the enemy is the one who massacred Israeli settlers and tried to retake settlements from resistance fighters."

Nasrallah did not reveal Hezbollah's specific intentions, but Israelis can be assured that the "Axis of Resistance" will continue to grow and will continue to retaliate against Zionist atrocities. It was implied that Hezbollah might shift some of its attacks to American assets in the region. 

At present, the resistance is composed primarily of Shia Muslims — Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Shia in Iraq and the government of Iran, and Syria to a lesser degree, even though nearly all Palestinians are Sunni. The seat of Sunni power is in Saudi Arabia and its dictators have taken a decidedly neutral stance. Even though Saudi Arabia has dropped its allegiance to the U.S., it does not want to incur the wrath of the U.S. or Israel, which could certainly hurt the monarchy financially. Vast amounts of Saudi assets are in western countries and vulnerable to sanctions and seizure. The thousands of Saudi princes don't want their fancy yachts seized and are willing to sacrifice as many Palestinians as necessary to retain their wealth. 

Turkey is one of the most vocal Sunni Islamic nations but also can't really afford to actively involve itself in the conflict but might use the conflict as an excuse to engage in its own genocide against their fellow Muslim Kurds in Syria and Iraq. 

Iran would be happy to wage all out war against Israel but can't defeat the U.S. without a lot of help and doesn't want to be nuked by Israel, which is likely. Israel's attacks on Gaza may be as much about drawing Iran into a war as it about purging Palestinians from Gaza so that Israel can fill it with Jews. 

Palestinians may have the sympathy and moral support of much of the world, but there is no significant military force coming to their rescue, just yet. They will continue to be trapped between the bombs and bullets in the North of Gaza and lack of food, water and shelter and the occasional missile in the South. Egypt is unwilling to accept more than a few refugees and can't sustain its own ever-expanding population. Israel continues to block sufficient aid shipments from Egypt. Thousands more innocent civilian Palestinians will die at the hands of Israel and the U.S. 

As Nasrallah concluded his speech, Israel responded to it by bombing the entrance to Shifa hospital in Gaza as a convoy of ambulances were leaving, killing or injuring 60 people. Extreme barbarity continues to be fascist Israel's primary agenda, with America's full support.