On the 224th day of the Israeli war on Gaza, Abu Obeida delivered another video statement.
Abu Obeida is the iconic Palestinian resistance leader and the military spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.
His latest statement carries particular importance since it follows another major Israeli push to reinvade parts of northern Gaza, and the city of Rafah in the southern Strip.
These are excerpts from Abu Obeida’s statement, based on the English translation provided by the Resistance News Network’s Telegram channel.
The Palestine Chronicle is publishing parts of the text without editing the original translation provided by RNN.
Our Promise to the Enemy
“32 weeks have passed since the glorious October 7th. The great and blessed people of Gaza, its fighters, and its mighty resistance are engaged in an asymmetrical war and legendary defense against Zionist barbarism in its ugliest forms. They have not weakened in their path for the sake of Allah, nor have they faltered or surrendered, and Allah loves the patient.
“For long days, nights, and weeks, the enemy and its Nazi government have practiced the most heinous forms of genocide against our people before the eyes and ears of the world. They have not left any form of war crimes or crimes against humanity as described by divine laws and human conventions that they have not committed with utter savagery.
“The enemy’s army boasts of its crimes as military achievements. The terror, criminality, and systematic destruction are the fixed strategies of the enemy in Gaza, aiming to break the will of our people and deter its resistance from defending and confronting, but they are far from achieving this.
“As we have always promised the enemy, wherever they aspire to achieve a victory or accomplishment, they will find us before them. This is what has happened and continues to happen every day.
Entering Hell
“Here is the enemy’s army, in a continuous series of confusion and failure, deciding about 10 days ago to start a new ground assault on Rafah, the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, and Jabalia in the north of the Strip, thinking they had become easy targets. They deluded themselves that after more than seven months of burning everything green and dry, they would face no resistance, only to enter hell again and face resistance equal to or even stronger than what they encountered on the first day of the ground aggression.
“Our fighters dealt severe blows to the enemy forces east of Rafah before they entered, at the borders, and after they infiltrated. In the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, fighters decapitated enemy officers and soldiers, bringing down (killing – PC) the highest-ranking officer announced since the start of the ground war.
“In Jabalia Camp and Jabalia City, the enemy tasted the might of our fighters, continuing to announce the killing and wounding of its soldiers en masse, along with the destruction of their vehicles.
“Over the last 10 days, the fighters managed to target 100 various Zionist military vehicles, including tanks, transporters, and bulldozers, across all fronts of combat.
“The enemy counts its dead and wounded by the dozens in all areas of its incursion, barely stopping to retrieve its soldiers before announcing part of its losses, though what we record is much greater.
“Our fighters confront the enemy with the strength of Allah, using a variety of anti-armor and anti-personnel weapons, as well as booby-trapped buildings, tunnel openings, and minefields against enemy soldiers. They conduct precise sniping operations, complex ambushes, point-blank range combat, dropping bombs from drones on enemy gatherings, and launching mortar and short-range rocket attacks on their positions, all of which we have documented and announced over the past days.
“Despite the campaign of starvation, destruction, killing, and criminality that would collapse even a great nation within months, our fighters, supported by our steadfast people, continue to emerge and deliver lethal strikes to the enemy. Each strike and blow exemplifies the saying of Allah, the Almighty: “So you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them. And you did not throw when you threw, but it was Allah who threw.”
“Our fighters, with their modest tools and capabilities, but with great faith and morale that reaches the sky, confront a trembling, confused, criminal, and broken force that finds only disappointment and reaps more dead, wounded, and physically and psychologically disabled soldiers among its ranks, despite the overwhelming disparity in power and the continuous supply of weapons from the US administration, which sponsors terrorism and destruction in the world.
Prepared for a Long Battle
“What is happening in terms of heroic resistance from our mujahideen and fighters of our people, and the renewed and continuous fighting against the enemy in all its offensive operations and stray attacks in Gaza’s sands, confirms our ability, with God’s help, to endure and fight no matter how long the aggression lasts and regardless of its form.
“Despite our full desire to stop the aggression against our people, we are prepared for a long battle of attrition against the enemy, dragging them into a swamp where they will gain nothing but the death of their soldiers and the capture of their officers. This is not because we are a great power, but because we are the people of this land and rightful owners.
“We are Gaza with its sky, air, sea, and sand, reminding you every time that it is a graveyard for invaders. We resist occupiers through the ages. Let history and the present be a lesson for you, and the future will be even harsher and more painful for you, by the will of Allah.
Israel Killing Its Own Prisoners
“We continuously and clearly report with names and photos about some cases of death and killing of enemy prisoners due to their army’s aggression and their government’s obstinacy and criminality.
“We state this to present the undeniable facts to the families and public of the enemy against their government’s lies and deception. When other facts about the prisoners emerge later, they will have to count the number of times we warned them about their fate, and (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s sacrifice of them for political gains in a losing battle.
Heroic Fighters of the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq
“We salute our heroic fighters in the occupied West Bank, who relentlessly pursue enemy soldiers and settlers, defending their families, holy sites, and people.
“We salute the fighters of our nation who stood on the bright side of history at this important juncture in the history of our nation and people. Here, we renew our congratulations for the continuous strikes by our brothers in the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon on the enemy’s northern front.
“We bless the operations of our sincere brothers, Ansarallah, in beloved Yemen and their announcement of a new phase of confrontation with the enemy and support for Gaza despite the unjust, blind alliances and threats.
“Greetings to our brothers in the Iraqi resistance who insist on supporting Gaza with all they can.
Free People of the World
“We also extend our greetings to the free people rising up against the oppression and crimes of the occupation, and to those standing in solidarity with our people and our just cause from all nationalities and races around the world, in the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and in the Islamic and Arab world.
“This unprecedented global solidarity and movement that exposes the occupation and reveals its ugly truth and expresses the earthquake in global awareness caused by the Al-Aqsa Flood and the activation of many fronts and arenas on various levels, will have a significant strategic impact, God willing.
Victory or Martyrdom
“The outcome of your patience, O our people, will be nothing but relief and victory by the will of God. What you have sold to God in terms of souls and pure blood will be rewarded with a precious victory and humiliation for your enemies, whom God has used you to torment.
“This cowardly occupier’s persistence in its crimes and its call for the cover of the forces of injustice and tyranny, in contrast to the chants of tens of millions in your name and their curses on your enemy, is proof of your greatness and the world’s amazement at your steadfastness, resistance, and sacrifices. Rejoice in the promise of your Lord.
“Our word has already preceded to Our servants, the messengers, that they are surely the ones who will be helped. And indeed, our soldiers will be the victors.
“May God accept our righteous martyrs, heal our brave wounded, release our free prisoners, and reunite our people everywhere. It is a jihad of victory or martyrdom.”
(PC, RNN)