Abu Ubaida's Speech, the Spokesperson of Al-Qassam Brigades, on the First Anniversary of Al-Aqsa Flood
"Indeed, We sent Moses with Our signs, ˹ordering him,˺ “Lead your people out of darkness and into light, and remind them of Allah’s days ˹of favour˺.” Surely in this are signs for whoever is steadfast, grateful." [Ibrahim: 5]
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Giver of honor to the believing mujahidin, the Humiliator of the arrogant, and the Breaker of the backs of the criminals, even after a while. And prayers and peace be upon our struggling martyred Prophet, his family and companions, and those who strive like him until the Day of Judgment.
O children of our great, patient, and proud free people, and its mujahideen and resistance fighters in dear Gaza, in the brave West Bank, in our holy capital, and throughout all of Palestine and the diaspora. O sons of our Islamic and Arab nation and its loyal fighters on all fronts and arenas in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and beyond. O all the free people of the world, from coast to coast, peace be upon you, and may God's mercy and blessings be with you.
A year after the start of the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa and the Zionist war against our people, we address you from the resilient and steadfast Gaza, which triumphs over its enemies. We bear witness to the strength of a victorious community that remains unshaken by those who abandon it or by the hardships it endures until God's promise is fulfilled.
Thanks be to God, a year after the most professional and successful commando operation in the modern era, which targeted a criminal enemy military division reinforced with all combat and intelligence systems.
An operation that involved a large pre-emptive strike significantly impacted the Zionist enemy and transformed the region. This action was taken after intelligence indicated that the enemy was finalizing plans for a major assault against the resistance in Gaza, including all its factions.
After its aggression on Al-Aqsa reached an unprecedented and dangerous stage, and after the enemy went too far in settlements, Judaization, aggression against prisoners, and violations of all taboos, the siege imposed on Gaza was also exacerbated, after all this, The decision was made to carry out a significant strategic attack against the Gaza Division, its military garrisons, and the troubling settlement ring that has long oppressed our people. For decades, we have faced all kinds of injustices and crimes committed against us.
Today, the summary of the situation in the region, one year after the Al-Aqsa flood, is as follows:
A legendary Palestinian people. All the stories of heroism prior to Gaza must fade away in shame of the greatness of our people. Those who teach the world the meaning of dignity, love for the land, a longing for freedom, fighting against occupiers, and legendary steadfastness, despite the betrayal of those close to us, as well as the cowardice and collusion of regimes.
Despite the brutality of the Zionist enemy and those behind it, from the forces of oppression and crime, headed by the American administration and some Western governments, greetings to our great people, the support, backer and champion. Whose sacrifices will not be in vain, God willing. And God would not let your faith, patience and steadfastness be lost, O our people, O crown of our heads.
Our surroundings in Palestine feature blazing fronts fighting alongside our people, supporting them and cutting off the enemy's hope of stability. Today, the fronts are engaging directly with the enemy, inflicting significant losses and delivering painful blows from the majestic Lebanon, the resilient Yemen, and the rich civilization of Iraq. Drones from Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq fly over occupied Palestine, targeting important sites and the enemy's defenses. These strikes weaken their security and military capabilities, causing significant economic and military losses. They force the enemy to displace and close its seaports.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is confronting the Zionist enemy and conducting "True Promise" I and II. Ballistic missiles are falling upon the enemy's bases in unprecedented numbers, breaking the longstanding rules that this enemy has established with the countries and peoples of the region. These actions dispute the idea that the enemy can act without fear of punishment or accountability for its crimes.
The hero Maher Al-Jazi sparks the creation of an authentic Jordanian Arab front, unified emotionally, historically, and geographically with our country and our people. The Zionist entity exists in the world as a brutal and murderous criminal, rejected by all the nations and their free peoples. An entity focused solely on constructing walls, fences, and buffer zones relies heavily on American-made air forces and military guidance. This entity is tethered to the influence of familiar American administrations, which will inevitably be severed over time, regardless of how long it takes. Furthermore, the legacy of European colonialism is rejected even by its own peoples. The regimes of normalization are ineffective, impoverished, and merely passive; they do not truly represent the conscience of our nation in any way.
Anyone who examines this situation understands that the future for our people, our nation, and our resistance lies before an entity whose total existence is shorter than the age of the shoes of the mosques and churches in Gaza, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jaffa, Nablus, Sidon, Tyre, and Beirut. This young entity has not experienced a single year free from resistance, fighting, and confrontation, consistently reminded that it is stealing Arab land and occupying our homeland, where our roots extend back thousands of years.
O our people and nation, O all the free people of the world, it has been a year, and we are still fighting in an unequal battle against an enemy who is a criminal, devoid of all human values and even of animal nature. The entire year was filled with heroism, sacrifices, generosity, and patience, and our mujahideen and our people's resistance fighters from all factions continue a state of steadfastness and heroic fighting with all determination, steadfastness, and courage in every inch of the Gaza Strip.
In any area where enemy soldiers, vehicles, or military groups are present, they face an extraordinary and unfamiliar form of heroic resistance during the current wars. This situation is influenced by the terrain, the balance of power, and the nature of combat in both offensive and defensive operations across all fronts. This is particularly evident in Rafah, Khan Yunis, central Gaza, and the northern regions. By the power of God, we have killed and wounded thousands of enemy soldiers, destroyed and rendered hundreds of military vehicles out of service, and targeted his soldiers with snipers, ambushes, and direct heroic engagement.
Thank God we have continuously developed our tactics, combat formations, and methods of work, keeping the enemy unprepared in a way that aligns with the current circumstances and all anticipated scenarios. This ensures, with God's help and strength, the success of our decision and choice to continue confronting the enemy in a prolonged and costly battle of attrition as long as they persist in their aggression and war.
O our people, O our nation.
What honors our resistance, movement, and battalions in this battle and throughout their journey is that they offer martyrs from among their leaders before their soldiers. The Zionist celebration of the assassination of the leaders of our movement and the leaders of the resistance, headed by the great leader of the movement, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, may God have mercy on him and be pleased with him, and the great leader, the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, may God accept him, and others from the caravan of righteous martyrs on all fronts, is the most significant evidence that this arrogant enemy does not understand the lessons of history, nor the facts of reality, nor the culture and will of our people and nation.
His joy over assassinations is a deceptive and illusory painkiller, providing only short-lived happiness and fleeting intoxication. When have assassinations marked the end of liberation and resistance movements globally? Especially in the history and present of our Palestinian and Arab revolutions? If assassinations were a true victory, the resistance against the occupation would have ended with the assassination of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam in the Ya'bad forests of Jenin 90 years ago. If assassinations were an effective strategy, the Qassam Brigades would not have launched Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa 20 years after the killing of some of the most prominent founders of Hamas and the Qassam movement.
If acts of brutality, the destruction of homes, and retaliation against innocent people could quell resistance, the heroes of Gaza would not be humiliating the enemy in every street and alley in the aftermath of a brutal war of extermination. Likewise, the heroes of the West Bank would not be rising up today, fighting and challenging the enemy from Jenin to Hebron, after 22 years of aggression known as Operation Defensive Shield.
The policy of assassinations against great heroes is the conclusion of goodness and the sign of true victory for the free. Simultaneously, it is a source of regret and disappointment for the aggressors. Therefore, our Lord, the All-Knowing and All-Wise, commented on it by saying: (They planned, but Allah also planned. And Allah is the best of planners.) [Al-Anfal: 30]. We operate in accordance with God's will and under His watchful eye. A leader leaves behind leaders, a soldier leaves behind ten, and a martyr leaves behind a thousand resistance fighters. This land produces resistance fighters, just as it produces olives. It bequeaths pride to generations, having inherited it from thousands of prophets, companions, righteous individuals, and mujahideen who rest in its sacred soil.
We, in the Al-Qassam Brigades, after a year since the start of the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa and the Zionist aggression against our people and the peoples of our nation, emphasize the following:
First,
What is currently happening in the region regarding support operations for the resistance in Gaza? This includes actual participation in the ongoing battle, the status of the naval blockade, and the displacement issues primarily caused by the Yemeni and Lebanese fronts. Additionally, we should consider the increasing and effective operations of the Iraqi resistance. Although significant sacrifices and Zionist injustices have occurred in the region, these actions are recognized and valued by our people, their conscience, and their emotions.
We support our brothers in all the resistance forces in the region, and we honor them and our free, faith-filled, sisterly peoples. Today, we say to our brothers, the fighters in Hezbollah in Lebanon, that we are confident in your steadfastness and your courage in inflicting huge and painful losses on the forces of the Zionist enemy, as the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah promised in his usual great positions.
We have worn down this troubled army over the past year in Gaza following its humiliating defeat on October 7. We have depleted a massive portion of its land capabilities, killed hundreds of its supposed elite forces, and engaged its soldiers in direct combat. Their planes, tanks, and intelligence did not avail them anything; we are sure that you will complete the mission with determination, competence, and efficiency with the help of God if the enemy dares to commit foolishness on the land of great Lebanon.
Here, we cannot miss blessing the efforts of the blessed Yemeni front that the brothers of truth, the Ansar Allah, are waging. We also value with pride the million-strong popular movement that has not stopped for an entire year for our free people in the proud and generous Yemen. Their sincere calls and chants, and their anger for God and Al-Aqsa, ring the ears, raise the heads, and sharpen the spirits.
We also appreciate all the movements of friendly and sisterly peoples worldwide in all continents and countries without exception.
What is occurring today in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem is a brutal act of aggression, culminating in the recent Tulkarm massacre. What is happening in the camps and cities of the West Bank today confirms that the enemy's war crimes in Gaza are a systematic policy in every area where our people are present, so our decision to ignite the Al-Aqsa flood was a cry in the face of this enemy, and the silent, conspiratorial, or helpless world, in the face of the oppression of our people, and attempts to erase our identity.
What has the world done for the people in the West Bank who face systematic displacement and genocide? This occupation, particularly its current terrorist regime, does not want to see Palestinians west of the Jordan River. This is clear from the maps of the Nazi criminal Netanyahu, which he boasted about displaying to the world. Therefore, our people's resistance fighters, youth, and mujahideen from all walks of life have understood that this enemy only understands the language of force and that weapons can only be confronted with weapons. They taught the enemy harsh lessons in the Bank of Ayyash, Karmi, Talaba, Nabulsi, Qawasmi, and Arouri.
The recent Jaffa operation and the heroic operations of our mujahideen in the West Bank that preceded it, are just a link in what is to come, and what the enemy will see is more incredible and harsher with God’s help, and that all targets in our occupied land are permissible, in response to the genocide of our people.
A tribute to our mujahideen and the brave fighters of our people in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit, Jericho, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. Your actions have shaken the foundations of the enemy. We call on you to escalate them in response to the arrogance of the Nazi government of the enemy. The hopes and dignity of our people have often been associated with the muzzles of guns and the strikes of the holy response against the settler herds and occupation soldiers.
Third,
Regarding the issue of the enemy's prisoners and the exchange, we say to the occupation people and the families of their prisoners in particular:
You could have recovered all your prisoners alive a year ago if that had suited Netanyahu's ambitions and aligned with his interests. From the very beginning, we have been committed to protecting our prisoners and preserving their lives. Therefore, it is unreasonable to suggest that we intend to kill or harm them, as this belief contradicts our literature and the teachings of our greatest religion.
It is important to emphasize our humanitarian goal of taking prisoners as a basis for exchanging them for our own detainees and the rights of our people. Therefore, what happened with the six prisoners in Rafah could happen again with others, especially as long as Netanyahu and his violent government remain obstinate. They continue to place obstacles in the way of the exchange deal, as the entire world is witnessing.
We want to reiterate that all groups responsible for guarding prisoners have clear instructions. Entering any area within combat and engagement zones means that the fate of the enemy's prisoners is determined by their direct guards. This is a matter that is often taken for granted and is quite decisive; there is little debate surrounding it. Engaging in certain areas may expose prisoners to the risk of crossfire, as has occurred in some cases. They could also be at risk from enemy fire, which has happened frequently, along with other scenarios that are evaluated by the field commanders in the area of operations.
It is well-known that after a considerable number of enemy prisoners were killed by their own fire or through actions of their army and government, the morale and health of the remaining prisoners became extremely challenging. The risks they face are increasing every day.
The fate of the enemy prisoners depends on a decision made by the leadership of the occupying government. This issue is exceedingly serious and dangerous. We cannot dismiss the possibility that their cases will be placed in a dark, closed tunnel, with no set timeline for resolution. In other words, we might be facing the emergence of one hundred new Ron Arads. This would represent the greatest sign of both strategic and moral failure for the adversary in its history.
Fourth,
On the first anniversary of the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa, we call for the greatest Islamic, Arab, and international solidarity with the Palestinian people, their cause, and the Palestinian resistance. We advocate for military support, which includes providing weapons, financial assistance, and equipment. Additionally, we encourage public action through demonstrations, protests, and boycotts against the enemy and its allies. We call for the initiation of the biggest Arab, Islamic, and international media campaign to support the Palestinian people and their struggle, as well as to counter the misleading and false narratives propagated by the Zionist-American propaganda machine.
We also call for the broadest cyber-attack on the Zionist entity by all supporters of the Palestinian people and their resistance, specifically from experts in electronic warfare. The Zionists must understand that they are outcasts from the entire free world. The umbrella of shame provided by the American administration and some Western European governments is tattered and does not protect against the truth, which is as clear as the sun.
We urge the elites, scholars, and preachers of our nation to move beyond mere verbal expressions of solidarity, with the exception of those whom my Lord has mercy upon. We ask you, scholars and preachers of our nation: Are you waiting for the day when we hear the tragic news of the demolition of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque? God forbids! As we bid farewell to the month celebrating the birth of our noble Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. Supporting our Prophet means supporting the place of his Night Journey and Ascension to the heavens, in which the scum of the earth insults it every day, defile him, and try to demolish and Judaize it openly.
Therefore, the weakest of faith is to mobilize our scholars throughout the nation to clarify the truth of the conflict and the clear, explicit, and continuous legal statement of the seriousness of what our people and our sanctities are being exposed to and the legitimacy and sanctity of our battle, and to clarify the duty of jihad on the nation with all its resources, to support its Al-Aqsa and its holy land. Setting aside the divisive sectarian discourse that tears the nation apart, this is what is expected from you, O descendants of Al-Izz bin Abdul Salam, Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, and other dedicated Islamic scholars. These scholars have served as role models for the nation and its generations throughout history, demonstrating courage and taking clear stands on the key issues that affect the nation.
Finally,
Greetings to the souls of our righteous and pure martyrs who have ascended and are ascending in the greatest battle for the religion of God, for the sake of the place of the Night Journey of His Prophet, and the sake of the most just goal and cause known to history. And healing for the wounded and injured, and freedom for the heroic prisoners in the prisons of Nazi injustice. Greetings to our great, giving, patient, victorious people with the help of God and to our heroic mujahideen in all the borders, arenas and fronts.
(Do not falter in pursuit of the enemy—if you are suffering, they too are suffering. But you can hope to receive from Allah what they can never hope for. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.) [An-Nisa: 104]
It is a jihad of victory or martyrdom. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.