Hizbullah Sözcüsü Afifi, Lübnan’ın başkenti Beyrut’un güneyinde Hizbullah’ın kalesi olarak nitelendirilen Dahiye bölgesinde basın toplantısı düzenledi.

Sahada yaşananları doğru bir şekilde aktaran medya mensuplarına teşekkür eden Afifi, bazı medya organlarını ise İsrail sansürü altında hareket etmekle eleştirdi. İsrail’in başkent Beyrut’un güney banliyösünü bombalamaya devam ettiğini ve şiddetli saldırılar gerçekleştirdiğini belirten Afifi, şunları söyledi:

“Silah depolarının varlığı gibi çürük bahaneler artık kimseyi kandırmıyor, ancak izleyen veya hesap soran hiçbir uluslararası kurum yok ve uluslararası kamuoyunun herhangi bir ağırlığı veya etkisi yok. Silah depoları yanılsaması yaratmak ve kamuoyunu yanıltmak için baskınlar bittikten sonra patlayan zaman ayarlı füzelerle banliyöleri bombalıyor ve enkaz altında kalanları kurtarma operasyonlarını engelliyor, sağlık görevlilerini ve ambulansları bombalıyor.”

Hizbullah Sözcüsü Afifi, İsrail’in daha önce vurduğu Lübnan’dan Suriye’ye geçiş güzergahındaki Masna yolundaki çukurun doldurulmasını engellediğini ve bunun “insanlık suçu” olduğunu sözlerine ekledi.

İsrail’in Beyrut’un merkezindeki saldırılarla suçlarına bir yenisini eklediğini ve amacının sadece öldürmek olduğunu aktaran sözcü, “Güneydeki BM güçlerine, karargahlarına ve tesislerine yönelik saldırı kınanacak bir eylemdir. Ancak BM’nin ve uluslararası toplumun bu vahim saldırıya karşı bazı çekingen kınama açıklamaları dışındaki tavrını sorguluyoruz.” ifadelerini kullandı.

‘İsrail’i caydıracak olan güç ve direniştir’

Afifi, İsrail’i caydıracak olan şeyin uluslararası toplum ve kararlardan ziyade “güç ve direniş” olduğunu kaydederek, “Düşmana şunu söylüyorum; saldırılarımızdan sadece birkaçını gördünüz.” dedi.

İsrail’in karada ilerleyemediğini ifade eden Afifi, Lübnan’ın güneyinde statik bir savunma yerine esnek bir savunma yaparak pusular, bombalar ve farklı yollarla İsrail’e kayıplar verdirerek geri çekilmeye zorlayacaklarını söyledi.

Hizbullah Sözcüsü Afifi, “Düşmanla savaş henüz başlangıç aşamasında. Bu nedenle acele etmeyin. Tankların geldiği 1982 yılında değiliz.” ifadesini kullandı.

Afifi’nin konuşmasının İngilizce tam dökümü ise el Cezire’de şöyle yer aldı:

After a tour with the Ministers of Information, the President of the National Media Council, and the Minister of Culture, the conference was moved here for logistical reasons and because the area naturally has a symbolic character. I had intended to hold a discussion with the Minister of Information, the President of the National Media Council, and others on the performance of Lebanese media institutions and some Lebanese journalists, and who among them could be classified as activists on the social media scene. It is clear that the Lebanese media arena is wide open to toxic Israeli propaganda without restrictions or controls due to the absence of laws or at least the lack of enforcement of existing laws.

I take this opportunity to commend the steadfast Lebanese journalists in the south who convey the true situation on the ground to the people and the world and document the crimes of the enemy against civilians and civilian infrastructure throughout Lebanon, especially in the southern suburbs. I especially commend the number of free Arab and foreign journalists who work among us from the depths of war and tragedy, sharing with us both hope and pain, as well as the story of resistance and resilience. So, thank you very much to them.

I will not miss this opportunity to quickly compare the strict Israeli military censorship on the media. However, these international institutions do not even dare to criticize the military censorship itself, let alone tell the enemy to stop killing civilians, destroying civilian facilities, ruining lives, economies, and infrastructure, and killing unarmed and innocent citizens. They do not dare, and no one says a word to the military censorship that conceals battlefield losses and losses on the internal front within the Zionist entity, especially after the strong and successful bombardment by the Islamic resistance deep within. Unfortunately, in our case, in our country under aggression, it is distressing that some of our media outlets report the Israeli news without verification, believe the Israeli narrative without scrutiny, and adopt its reading and narrative of the field events or the aggressive bombardment.

Lebanese media outlets sometimes broadcast threats and statements from the Israeli Chief of Staff and the military spokesperson of the occupation army live on air, sometimes even with translations that serve to fuel the psychological warfare narrative against the resistance. They also publish more and more of their news, pictures, and media comments within the framework of psychological warfare against the resistance, the resistance’s people, and the resistance’s allies. Additionally, there is continuous incitement against the resistance and its members and allies, unfortunately only stopping where embarrassment calls for it. Unfortunately, the government does not act, the Ministry of Information does not act, the response is insufficient, timid, and limited to a phone call to this or that station. The same goes for the National Media Council. The excuse is always non-interference by the state, and the excuse is freedom of the media.

So, is freedom even in the land of public liberties without laws? Is it logical for those falsely called activists on the media to publish the names of certain villages and say that this village or that one has resistance officials, or that this building or that one has resistance officials? Is it logical to publish on social media the names of villages and say that these villages contain weapons and ammunition for the resistance? This is direct and indirect incitement to the enemy to kill civilians living in these villages.

Is it part of media freedom to incite against hospitals, against ambulances, and against rescue teams in civil defense? Is this preemptive incitement intended to create a prior justification for a hospital massacre with other civilians? Where is the Minister of Justice? Where is the Attorney General? Where are the specialized judges? Where is the Cybercrime Office? Unfortunately, I take this opportunity and your esteemed presence, dear journalists, especially in such dangerous and sensitive atmospheres, to thank you for your attendance and even thank you for risking coming here.

First, the enemy continues to bomb the southern suburb and the violent raids do not cease. This is an example of what happened and continues to happen every night in the southern suburb, where buildings and citizens’ homes are being bombed. It is nothing but an instinct for killing and brutality. The flimsy pretext of the presence of weapons stores no longer fools anyone, but there are no international institutions monitoring or holding anyone accountable, and no international public opinion with any weight or influence. The suburb is bombed with timed missiles even when they explode again to create the illusion that there are weapons stores at the explosion site, and rescue operations for those trapped under the rubble are prevented, especially in the Mreijeh area. Medics and ambulances are bombed, and the machinery of the Ministry of Public Works is prevented from filling the crater on the Al-Masna road due to American pressures and malicious actions led by the American ambassador in Awkar. She is responsible, the United States is responsible for this brutal massacre in the southern suburb, and the American ambassador is responsible for the harm to civilians and their homes, and for preventing rescue and ambulance teams from reaching the rescuers. It is a crime against humanity, but who holds America accountable for crimes against humanity?

The aggression against dear Beirut yesterday and its people who are our people and we are an integral part of it is nothing but a continuation of its condemned crimes throughout the country, which led to the martyrdom of a large number of civilians yesterday under a flimsy and false pretext that it invented to justify its new crime. Secondly, the aggression against the United Nations forces in the south, their headquarters, and their facilities is certainly a condemned act. However, we ask about the actions of the United Nations and the international community in the face of this serious aggression. Is it only some timid statements of condemnation? This behavior confirms that the enemy does not care about the international community or international decisions. Didn’t the representative of the Zionist entity tear up the United Nations Charter in the middle of the General Assembly hall in front of its members who did nothing?

Can we remember that a group of civilian citizens were killed under the United Nations tent and under its blue flag in the Qana massacre in 1996? What deters the enemy from its crimes is power and resistance, not the international community nor international decisions. Thirdly, I said during the media tour in the southern suburb about ten days ago that the strike on Tel Aviv is only the beginning, and what happened in recent days in Hezzeh, Jouoakh, and Nahari confirms that we are still at the beginning. And to the enemy, I say: You have seen only a little so far. Fourth, regarding the field situation, especially on the southern front, from the perspective of the complete confidence of the fighters, I assure you that the resistance is fine. To be precise and not improvise, the resistance is fine and manages its firing field and timing of its salvos in a manner consistent with its reading of the field and its objective conditions.

Its strategic stockpile is fine; thousands of Karbala’i martyr fighters are at peak readiness and prepared to defend Lebanon, ready for fierce combat in revenge for the blood of our highest, most precious, and beloved martyr. So far, the enemy is incapable, despite bringing in more forces, divisions, and brigades, of advancing except in specific cases, and its forces are still positioned in the rear. And if you hear, this is a message to the resistance audience first and the media second, if you hear or see some enemy soldiers in this village or that, or old pictures in this tunnel or that, do not worry and do not let your morale weaken.

This is because there was a prior decision by the resistance leadership not to engage in fixed defensive positions but rather in flexible defense aligned with the requirements of the front and the conditions of each area within it. They set ambushes, plant explosives, execute flanking maneuvers, and transition with high flexibility from defense to offense, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, forcing them to repeatedly retreat and reassess the front’s situation, which contradicted their calculations and estimates. Nevertheless, I want to tell you, as a high-ranking front line commander told me, that the resistance fighters refuse to withdraw from positions that the resistance considers militarily fallen and where there is no military necessity or benefit to defend them. Despite this, they refuse to withdraw from them out of their belief in defending their country and people.

Fifth, a lot of talk is happening on local TV channels, especially on those that incite resistance, which have their own audience who are the only ones listening and being influenced by them. Do they think anyone else hears them or is influenced by their lies and editorial campaigns against the resistance? The same people remain the same. Much talk is happening on television screens and behind the scenes in politics about hastening the political outcomes of the battle within Lebanon. Netanyahu was clear in his conversation with President Macron about the expected choices in Lebanon and the region, which is becoming evident in American intentions and is also being reflected in the American press. Netanyahu, Macron, and the Americans were followed by some local politicians, and ugly terms and repulsive phrases emerged that do not need to be mentioned now.

Therefore, I say: First, the battle with the Zionist enemy is still in its early stages. Talking about political investment internally is very premature, so don’t rush and burn your fingers, or else you have never learned from past lessons. Remember that the Israeli does not work for your benefit but for his own. Second, we are not in 1982 when Israeli tanks reached Beirut and changed political equations. Rather, we are as if in the early days of the July War when those same people hastened to make final judgments about the battle and the defeat of Hezbollah before realizing the error of their ways and returning to their senses after the war ended, with Hezbollah emerging victorious and stronger than before.

Thirdly, our absolute priority now is to defeat the enemy and forcibly compel them to cease their aggression. However, any internal or external political effort that achieves a cessation of aggression is appreciated as long as it aligns with our comprehensive vision of the battle, its circumstances, and its outcomes. Within this vision, there is an unequivocal commitment to national unity and internal solidarity. I must say to our displaced people: you are our eyes that we see with and our hearts that beat in our chests, and you are the trust of our highest lord and martyr. If we fall short with you, we apologize and are determined to correct our shortcomings and do our utmost. If we succeed in serving you, our displaced people, it is our duty and we do not seek any favor for it.

Dear people of resistance, we know that this hardship will pass, and God willing, after difficulty comes ease. Do people think they will be left to say, “We believe,” without being tested? The resistance is none other than you, our people; you are the resistance and you will soon return to the neighborhood and to your homes in the south and Beqaa. The promise of the martyr leader to you is that we will restore it even more beautiful than it was, present in our hearts and minds, and we will celebrate the victory together, God willing. Our culture is Karbala-like and our spirit is one of martyrdom, but know all of you that this battle is not Karbala, and Zainab is not alone without a helper or supporter, and Hussein will not be killed twice. He said: This is the battle of Khaybar, the battle of the removal of the gate in Khaybar, and God is with us and our great Lebanese people with their overwhelming majority are with us and by our side, everyone, Hezbollah is Arab-Islamic and the honorable free people all over the world.

I conclude by saying that Hezbollah is not just an organization, and even if the organization returns to its strength, cohesion, and effectiveness from the top of the hierarchy to the last official in Naqoura. And Hezbollah is not just a resistance, even if the resistance has begun to regain the initiative and capability. Hezbollah is a nation, and nations do not die because their destiny is victory. Thank you.

(https://aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/11/live-israel-hits-centre-of-lebanons-beirut-intensifies-north-gaza-siege)