Nasrallah Warns Israel: ‘Your Short-Lived Laughter Will Soon Turn Into Bitter Tears’

Full speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah at the funeral ceremony for Major Fouad Ali Shukr, known as “Sayed Mohsen,” on August 1, 2024.

The most important passages are in bold.

Source: Al-Manar / Translation: resistancenews.org

Before we begin our commemoration, we must address the significant martyrdom and perilous assassination of the great leader, the head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, our dear and beloved brother, Professor Ismail Haniyeh, along with his personal bodyguard, the martyr Wissam Abu Shaaban. On behalf of our Resistance and the families of our martyrs, I extend our condolences and congratulations [in Islam, martyrdom is a blessing] to our brothers in Hamas, especially the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades [armed wing of Hamas], to all the dear brothers of the Palestinian Resistance factions, to the steadfast, oppressed Palestinian people ready to make any sacrifice, to our Arab and Islamic peoples, and to every resistant, free, and honorable person engaged in the defense of the oppressed, the tortured, and the holy places, in confronting tyrants, oppressors, murderers, monsters, and racists. Specifically, I address the family of Hajj Ismail Haniyeh, this honorable and dignified family of mujahideen who have offered their sons, grandchildren, daughters, and dozens of men, women, and children as martyrs in the daily massacres perpetrated by the Zionist enemy in Gaza. It is our duty to begin by offering them our condolences. We understand the gravity of losing leaders, of martyred leaders, and we share in their grief, their anger, their battle, their responsibility, and their pride in seeing the leaders of the Resistance movements fall as martyrs along with their mujahideen and fighters, their men, women, children, and the masses who support them. As partners in martyrdom, together we will achieve the inevitable victory, with God’s grace.

Now, let me turn to our own commemoration, that of our dear brother and great jihadist leader, Commander Sayed Fouad Ali Shukr, known as Sayed Mohsen, may God Most High be pleased with him. You know it happened, as we experienced this incident together, on Tuesday before sunset. The enemy’s primary objective, as announced, was to assassinate the great jihadist commander Sayed Mohsen. A building in Haret Hreik, an important detail for the forthcoming stance, was targeted. A civilian building full of inhabitants, families, men, women, and children was attacked in Haret Hreik, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. This aggression resulted in the martyrdom of seven individuals: three women, martyr Hajjah Hanaa al-Hakim and her daughter, martyr Dr. Salwa al-Bitar, and martyr Hajjah Wassila Beydoun; two young children, martyr Amira Fadlallah, aged 8, and martyr Hassan Fadlallah, aged 13; an Iranian brother, Milad Bedi; and finally, martyr commander Sayed Fouad Shukr. Additionally, there are dozens of wounded, most of them women and children, some still in serious condition in hospitals, though, by the grace of God, the majority have been discharged with minor to moderate injuries. This is what happened.

Naturally, I must first address all the families of the martyrs, those dignified, patient, and resilient families, who have so far expressed nothing but acceptance, satisfaction, and pride in the martyrdom of their loved ones, and determination to continue on this path until victory, whether it be the family of our martyred leader or the families of the civilian martyrs, women and children. I send them our condolences and congratulations, as always: we express our deepest sympathy for the loss of loved ones and extend our congratulations to the families for the honor of martyrdom. We suffer for our losses. Who says we don’t suffer? But we are patient, we endure, we face any calamity, tragedy, or loss with patience, with beautiful patience, submitting to the will of Almighty God and satisfying ourselves with His judgment. We face such events with confidence in God Most High because we have faith in God and the Last Day. But that doesn’t mean we don’t suffer.

Regarding the assassination of the martyred commander Ismail Haniyeh, you will note that the statement by His Eminence the Leader (Ali Khamenei) affirms that this loss has saddened and overwhelmed the Axis of Resistance. When leaders, mujahideen, women, and children fall as martyrs, we genuinely feel pain, sorrow, grief, and tragedy because we are human beings with emotions. However, this is a different feeling from simple grief. We are human beings like everyone else, subject to the same feelings. When we think of Hussein, peace be upon him, as the great martyr of Islam, we weep. We have mourned him for nearly 1400 years, and we shall continue to mourn him until the Day of Resurrection. So we begin by sending our condolences to the families of the martyrs to console them for the loss of their loved ones, and also to congratulate them on this beautiful end and good conclusion (martyrdom), for every soul is subject to death. “You are mortal and they are mortal”. If death is inevitable and the time for departure has come, the most honorable death is to be killed on the path of God, as we discussed in detail during the nights of Ashura. So much for the first point.

Secondly, regarding the event itself. The enemy justified its assault on the southern suburbs of Beirut under a misleading pretext, but what occurred was an aggression. This is not just an assassination but an act of aggression, and let me clarify:

• Firstly, there was an attack and bombardment of the southern suburbs, the suburbs of the capital.
• Secondly, civilian buildings were targeted, not a military base or barracks.
• Thirdly, civilians, including women and children, were killed.
• Fourthly, a major Resistance commander was targeted.

These four points must be detailed as they determine our stance. This was an act of aggression, but it was presented as a reaction, and it had been announced in the days leading up to the aggression that there would be an Israeli response, and that we should all await it. Various countries intervened, many hypocritical, stating that Israel had the right to respond. Respond to what? To the falsification I am about to address.

We completely reject this assessment and characterization: this was an act of aggression. It’s part of the ongoing battle since the creation of this entity, since the massacres of 1947 and 1948 in occupied Palestine, southern Lebanon, Hula, and other parts of southern Lebanon. It’s all part of the Israeli-Zionist-American war against Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and the peoples of the region. This is part of the war, part of the battle. They present it as a response to the Majdal Shams incident, a point I will return to, but it’s disinformation, hypocrisy, lies, and a sham. So much for the first point. I will elaborate when I talk about Sayed (Mohsen).

Secondly, Israel claimed the attack was a response to the Majdal Shams incident, attributing to our martyr, our grand commander, the title of the murderer of the children of Majdal Shams. This is the greatest falsification and misinformation of these days. During the Majdal Shams incident, a missile fell on the village. We have categorically denied responsibility for this incident. We have the courage to acknowledge our actions, even if they were mistakes, and to take responsibility for them. Some suggest it could have been a mistake on our part. If we had made a mistake, we would have admitted it and apologized, as we have done many times in the past.

Sidebar: During the 2006 war, after Israeli Arabs were hit in Haifa, Nasrallah said in his August 9 speech:

“I address a special message to the Arabs of Haifa. We were and still are saddened by your martyrs and your wounded (hit by Resistance missiles). I implore you to leave this city. I truly hope you will. During the past period, your presence and what affected you made us hesitate to attack this city, despite the fact that the southern suburbs of Beirut are hit whether we attack Haifa or not, and the rest of the depth of Lebanese territory is hit. I hope you will relieve us of this hesitation and protect your blood, which is ours, and leave this city.”

But our meticulous internal investigation led us to conclude that we were not responsible. We did not issue a statement immediately but waited several hours to be sure of the facts on our side. Unfortunately, the enemy rushed to accuse us, posing as prosecutor, judge, and executioner, without providing any proof. The Americans, the West, and certain immoral and vile Arab media supported this assertion. Another very likely hypothesis, supported by many strategists and military experts who have relied on evidence and the Resistance’s denial, suggests that an Israeli interceptor missile fell at Majdal Shams. Israel refuses to accept this hypothesis, although we have ample evidence that interceptor missiles have previously fallen in Acre, Haifa, and other places, causing Israeli injuries and the burning of Israeli cooperatives, without the enemy denying responsibility. But at Majdal Shams, seeing that there were children among the victims, that it was in the Golan and among the Druze, which has its importance, they rushed to accuse the Resistance.

Be that as it may, it is my duty today to stress once again that this accusation is unfair, inadmissible, dismissive, targeted, and intended to mislead. It aims to defame us, not to justify the murder of Sayed Mohsen or the attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs. They don’t need a reason, pretext, or proof for this (because Israel respects nothing), but they have profited from this accusation. The initial aim of this accusation was, firstly, to exonerate the enemy army, as there were clashes on the border and many interceptor missiles had been fired. Secondly, it was intended to sow discord between the inhabitants of the Golan and their loved ones from the noble monotheistic Druze community, and the Resistance, particularly the noble Shiite community. That was the aim. The Israeli enemy and its supporters closely watch the region today, because one of the most important results of the Al-Aqsa Flood and the support fronts [opened by Hezbollah, Yemen, and the Iraqi Resistance, all Shiites] and the honorable positions taken by many religious, political, spiritual, and other leaders, parties, and officials has been to overcome the sectarian tensions amplified over the last decade. This is unfavorable for the Israelis, who seek to revive these intra-religious and sectarian conflicts. I had already pointed out, during the Muharram nights, that they would try to do this now, and especially after the end of the battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood. But thanks to Almighty God, and to the lucidity and wisdom of a group of great political and spiritual leaders of the noble Druze monotheist community, in Lebanon, Syria, and the occupied Syrian Golan itself, who made firm declarations and communiqués, as well as spontaneous popular stands against the Zionist assassins, the Israeli officials [Ben Gvir, Netanyahu… ] who came to the Golan, these efforts at sedition were thwarted, and the false Zionist accusations against the Resistance were rejected. I must also address these Druze leaders, as well as the families of the Golan martyrs, victims of this painful incident, to express my thanks and condolences on behalf of all of you. May Almighty God grant them patience and comfort, and show them mercy.

The aggression against Beirut’s southern suburbs was in no way a response to the Majdal Shams incident, contrary to Israel’s claims. As I said, it is part of the war, and yes, it is about making Lebanon pay the price for the support front [in Gaza opened on October 8, with daily Hezbollah operations mobilizing half of Israel’s army and military capabilities], as they have clearly stated. Netanyahu seeks to capitalize on the assassination of a martyr-level commander Sayed Fouad in every way, not only for Majdal Shams but also to justify himself to his public opinion, which holds him responsible for the failures of October 7 and its aftermath and the situation on the northern front. He wants to present achievements to justify his failures. On this subject, the Israelis have spoken frankly, and this point is true: yes, we are paying the price for our support front for Gaza, our support for the Palestinian people, our commitment to the Palestinian cause, and our defense of the holy sites. This is the truth. And it’s not the first price we’re paying. In this battle, we have already offered hundreds of martyrs, combatants and civilians, including leaders we have spoken of in previous speeches (notably the two top commanders in southern Lebanon). We are willing to pay this price, as we did today with Sayed Fouad and the martyrs at Haret Hreik. We accept this price because we are engaged in this battle out of faith, faith in its humanity, morality, justice, legitimacy, and all its noble characteristics. When we enter this battle, we all accept, not just the martyrs (who fall) on the front line, but everyone, everywhere we are present in Lebanon and Syria, small and large, leaders, cadres, fighters, families, our base, those popular masses who embrace the Resistance, as well as all the Resistance movements, such as Hezbollah, the Amal movement, the Nationalist Party, the Islamic Organization, and others, accept these sacrifices. All of us, when we decided to commit, to help and support (our brothers in Gaza) and to engage in this battle, were ready to shed our blood. As I said about the martyrdom of Hajj Imad (Moghniyeh), this is the state of mind of all of us: we are ready to shed our blood and have prepared our shroud. That’s why we’re not surprised by the price we have to pay, and won’t be in the future, whatever the cost. This battle is worth these great sacrifices.

Some people, even after ten months of fighting, continue to question and still do not understand the essence of this conflict, the reality of this battle, its prospects, its risks, its strategic, major, and historic consequences for the (Zionist) entity, Palestine, Lebanon, and the countries of the region, depending on its outcome, whether victory or defeat. They are still living in narrow horizons, but in reality, we are facing a major battle that goes beyond mere support fronts. There’s a battle in Gaza, a battle in South Lebanon, an open battle in Yemen, and even in Iraq, all interconnected. Al-Hodeida in Yemen is being bombed, as was Jurf al-Sakhr yesterday or the day before in Iraq (the United States killed 3 Iraqi Resistance fighters), the leader Ismail Haniyeh is being assassinated in Tehran, and Major Fouad Shukr is being murdered in the southern suburbs of Beirut. These are no longer isolated (support) fronts but an open battle on all fronts, which has entered a new phase. There’s no doubt that the (Israeli) aggression against Al-Hodeida, after Ansarallah’s heroic qualitative operation against Tel Aviv, hit by the drone “Yafa” (Tel Aviv’s Arabic name), after the assassination of leader Ismail Haniyeh… These Zionists are stupid. They are truly blind. This arrogance, of which the Koranic verses have spoken, this tyranny, this hubris that prevents the functioning of the brain and reason… They imagine that they can kill the leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and that Iran won’t react? The words of His Eminence the Supreme Leader (Sayed Ali Khamenei), may God preserve him, are stronger and more virulent than his communiqué and speech following the aggression against the Iranian consulate in Damascus and the martyrdom of Commander Zahedi. They are more virulent! The Islamic Republic (of Iran), from what we have heard from His Eminence the Supreme Leader, His Eminence the President of the Republic, the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all Iranian officials, not only considers that there has been an attack against their sovereignty. In the case of the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, they considered that there had been an attack on their sovereignty, because the embassy and consulate are part of Iranian territory. But when they speak of the assassination of the leader Ismail Haniyeh, they speak firstly of an attack on their sovereignty, secondly of an attack on their national security, thirdly of an attack on their prestige, and fourthly—a point that Israel must understand well, if it is capable of doing so—of an attack on their honor. And you know what honor means. The West and its ilk don’t know what honor is. But the rest of us understand what it means. When we talk about an attack on sovereignty, national security, prestige, that has certain implications. But when Iran says it’s an attack on our honor, because Ismail Haniyeh was our guest, and you murdered our guest, in the East, and especially in the Islamic world, that’s a completely different thing, with completely different implications.

So, this Israeli mentality, the society of this entity, which has been rejoicing for several days… There’s no doubt that they are very happy and puffed up with pride to have, in a few hours, killed Sayed Mohsen in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and Haniyeh in Tehran, and to have struck Hodeidah in Yemen a few days earlier. But they don’t see the consequences of their actions. Let them rejoice. Laugh a little, for you will weep a lot. [Audience: At your command, O Nasrallah] For you do not know what red lines you have crossed, and what kinds of aggressions you have perpetrated, and how far you have gone. So I say, for the enemy and friends to know, that we have now entered a new phase on all fronts of support, a phase different from the previous one. The escalation will depend on the enemy’s behavior and reactions. Today, it is up to them to await the wrath of the honorable men of the (Muslim) Community, the vengeance of the honorable men of the (Muslim) Community, and the retaliation of the honorable men of the (Muslim) Community in retribution for all this blood shed unjustly. So much for that point.

On the other hand, of course, we must emphasize that we are thwarting the objectives of every assassination. In the end, the martyr gets what he wants (the most), but the objectives of these operations are not achieved. In general, the aim of assassinating leaders, whether military, security, political, jihadist or intellectual, etc., is to undermine the group to which they belong. The aim is to weaken their will, determination, and decisiveness, to frighten them, to make them back down, to stop them, to subdue them. However, even within the entity, some say to Netanyahu: “You’re happy now, but if you think this will stop or weaken the Resistance, you’re wrong. Experience says it won’t, and we’ll pay the price.” Even some Zionist observers and analysts recognize this undeniable fact. If we take Hamas as an example, its founding leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin found martyrdom, as did senior leaders like Rantisi and other military commanders like Yahya Ayache, etc., etc.), etc. And now, Israel is counting on the assassination of the great jihadist leader (Haniyeh), may God have mercy on him, to claim an achievement. Yet Hamas has never stopped growing and strengthening. Islamic Jihad, whose founder and first Secretary General, Dr. Fathi Shiqaqi, was killed, has never stopped growing either. As for Hezbollah, despite the assassinations of our leaders, our Secretary General (Sayed Abbas Mousawi) and our great jihadist leader Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, our movement has continued to grow.

Experience shows that these assassinations do not achieve their objectives. Why not? Because the targeted groups believe in God, in the Last Day, in their cause, in their path, in their mission. They are prepared to sacrifice what is most precious to them. The faith and colossal cultural, historical, and existential heritage to which they belong give them immense spiritual and moral energy, as well as a considerable capacity to endure hardship and sacrifice. How else can we explain the patience of the martyrs’ families and the legendary steadfastness of the people of Gaza, southern Lebanon, and the peoples of our region for 76 years? The same applies to us. Yes, as I said, we are very saddened by Sayed Fouad’s martyrdom, but this will not affect our will, our determination, our decisions, or our pursuit of this path. On the contrary, it always strengthens us. As we said with the martyred leaders before, it strengthens our commitment and our certainty in the rightness of our choice and decision.

Here, in this compound (the Sayed al-Shuhada complex in the southern suburbs of Beirut), some people didn’t know Sayed Fouad and hadn’t seen his face. Many of our martyrs are like this, ignored by the masses, and only known after their martyrdom. Sayed Mohsen would sometimes come to this compound during ‘Ashura (commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein), and participate with you in the singing, sharing your feelings and stance. And today, as we preach, speak, and gather around his remains, he stood with you, raising his hand as we said to Hussein, peace be upon him, on the night of the tenth day, “O Aba Abdullah, if we knew that we would be killed, then burned, then scattered in the air, then resurrected, then killed in this way seventy times or a thousand times, we would not leave you, O Hussein.” Sayed Fouad was with you, crying out “I will not leave you, O Hussein.” [Audience: I will not leave you, O Hussein]. We say to Sayed Fouad, who lies before us: you believed in our slogans, our songs, and our pledge of allegiance. You honored the trust placed in you and joined Imam Hussein, peace be upon him. And we remain faithful to this pact, to this path, and we will continue.

They also think that this causes a flaw in our structure. Thanks to Almighty God, we have many leaders and generations of leaders. We have grown up together, and I often say to my brothers and myself that we still feel young, but many of our leaders are in their fifties or sixties. They were very young when they joined Hezbollah. Sayed Mohsen started fighting the enemy when he was twenty or twenty-one, just like our leaders. I would like to reassure, in particular, the popular base of the Resistance and those who embrace and support it, that in the event of the martyrdom of one of our leaders, we will quickly fill these gaps with jihadist leaders, the students of these (martyred) leaders, the students of Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, Sayed Fouad Shukr, Sayed Mustafa Badreddine, and others. We have an excellent generation of jihadist leaders capable of assuming responsibility, whatever the sacrifices offered. As far as the enemy’s objectives are concerned, this goal will not be achieved.

Sayed Mohsen has achieved what he set out to achieve. There is no doubt that he longed for martyrdom. I was in daily and hourly contact with him for ten months, from the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood, as he was in charge of managing operations with the brothers of the Resistance leadership in the south. We met and talked at length from time to time. When the leaders fell as martyrs, he was affected psychologically and emotionally because he loved them. At one session, this solid, courageous man, known for his solidity, stability, strength, steadfastness, and boldness, this unshakeable man, wept as he talked about the martyrs and martyrdom. Don’t be surprised if our brothers weep, no matter how brave and unyielding they may be. Why did he cry? He said to me, “O Sayed, is it reasonable for me to stay here and rule from here?” Because he was always asking to perform a martyrdom operation. Most of the martyrs whose photos you see in resistance operations were trained by him. They were his pupils, his comrades, whom he trained in the mosques, gathered, and accompanied. He never stopped talking about them, because he missed them. He’d say, “Is it reasonable that I should end up dying in bed, of cardiac arrest or whatever? How could that be?” That was his soul, that was his mentality.

That’s why today, I and many of our brothers say to those who worry about the psychological and emotional situation of Sayed Fouad’s brothers or comrades: don’t worry, on the contrary, we envy him this martyrdom. In fact, it’s his wish, his personal goal, and that of many honorable mujahideen who are waiting for what God the Most High has promised and decreed. Perhaps it was time for him to join his brothers of the first group (founders of Hezbollah). I’ve seen the photos where Sayed Fouad stands in the middle, with Sayed Zulfiqar on his right and Hajj Imad on his left. These three brothers were together from the start. Some of their brothers-in-arms are still alive, may God protect them, but they formed one of the first and most important nuclei of our Resistance.

If we wanted to talk about Sayed Fouad and his long history with the Resistance, we’d need hours. God willing, we’ll hold an appropriate ceremony to honor this martyred leader and talk about him in detail. I’ll confine myself to the summary that has been distributed. Sayed Fouad is part of the first founding generation, the first fighters. He was one of the first founders of the Islamic Resistance groups in Lebanon and led many operations in the south, including qualitative operations, without going into detail. Until his martyrdom, he was always at the head of the Resistance, in management, planning, implementation, and capacity building. One of the most important capabilities the Resistance has today was built by Sayed Fouad, particularly during his cooperation with Hajj Imad and after Hajj Imad’s martyrdom in particular. He has a long history of responsibility, and he never had any problem (being assigned here or there). Sayed Fouad is the first general head of Hezbollah we’ve had, and he’s gone on to other responsibilities. Wherever we asked him to go, he went without any objection. He was our first military leader but he left this responsibility to go to Bosnia, like the martyred leader Abou Talib or the martyred Ala’a, who stayed there for one or two years. Today, we can reveal that the leader, manager, and director of the Hezbollah group who went to Bosnia is Sayed Fouad, and he stayed there for a long time. He went to support the oppressed, the abandoned, and those threatened with atrocious massacre in Bosnia. He left Lebanon and went to Bosnia before returning to assume all his responsibilities. Unfortunately, as usual, I can’t tell you everything about him. On the one hand, we want to do justice to this mujahid commander and talk about his achievements, but on the other hand, we can’t reveal all these achievements and the reality of things because we’re still in the thick of the battle, and the enemy can take advantage of mentioning these achievements in terms of information, morale, and so on. In any case, Sayed Mohsen’s story is a long one, and we’ll come back to it at another time.

Finally, I come to the main and final position. What’s going to happen now? Firstly, I said that we have entered a new phase. Pressure on all fronts for the Resistance in Palestine to surrender is futile. The Resistance will not lay down its arms. This is the clear position of the Hamas leadership after Haniyeh’s martyrdom because Netanyahu’s objective is for Hamas in Gaza to come to him and say: “Here are the prisoners, and here are our weapons. Do what you want in Gaza and plan for the next day because we are surrendering,” which is not an option at all. Neither capitulation in Gaza, nor capitulation in Lebanon, nor capitulation in Yemen is possible at all, under any circumstances. And all the pressure now being put on Iran and the rest of the supporting fronts under the heading of an invitation to be reasonable… Where is this international community? Every day, the massacres in Gaza continue unabated. He speaks of children killed (in Majdal Shams), but the greatest scene and movie of hypocrisy, imposture, and arrogance the world has witnessed is the scene where Netanyahu addresses Congress and the Americans applaud him. There is no greater lie, no greater impudence, no greater hypocrisy. All this pressure won’t work. If there are any in this world who truly want to prevent the region from flaring up into something worse and greater, let them put pressure on Israel and force it to stop its aggression against Gaza. There’s nothing more to say. You can kill whoever you want, destroy whatever you can, declare war here and there, go to the most extreme extremes and cross every red line, whatever we do on our side, there will be no solution other than to stop the aggression on Gaza. So much for the first point.