Resistance goes on offensive
By Arafat Abu Zaid
Lecturer in international relations
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm took place at a time when the Zionist occupation believed it had succeeded in subduing the resistance in Gaza and eliminating it. Zionist research centers and military generals in the entity even affirmed on more than one occasion that the resistance in Gaza was crippled. This was despite the fact that the resistance had confirmed during the Battle of the Revenge of the Free in May 2023 and subsequent exercises of the Joint Operations Room, especially the Extreme Corner 4 maneuver on September 12 last year, that it was ready to confront aggression and defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prisoners.
The Zionist arrogance continued through daily violations and incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacks on Jerusalem residents, whether Muslims or Christians, by settlers. As a result of this, the resistance faced a real test to defend its land, sanctities, and the dignity of its people. In a first for the Palestinian resistance, it managed to use the element of surprise and deception by concealing its field and military plan from the occupation until the military operation was hours away from starting. It proved the weakness and ineffectiveness of the occupation’s capabilities and military abilities that it had purportedly honed through repeated the Chariots of Fire and Decisive Strike maneuvers.
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm constitutes a moral, security, and military blow to the Zionist occupation. The battle came after the occupation executed several strategic maneuvers, most notably the Chariots of Fire and Decisive Strike maneuvers, which it claimed were aimed at training to confront Iran and strike the Iranian nuclear program. Despite these major maneuvers, the Zionist occupation, which had planned for a battle against Iran, was unable to face a group of young resistance fighters armed with only primitive weapons in an area that has been geographically besieged by land, sea, and air for 17 years. The most prominent question is how the state of the occupation army would be if it engaged in a battle with Iran or Hezbollah, given its current capabilities.
The heroic scenes made by the Palestinian resistance in this battle resonated with the Arab and Islamic world, which supported it by celebrating and demonstrating in the streets. One of the most notable official reactions was made by the Iranian Parliament in Iran, which expressed its support for the resistance operation as its members chanted slogans such as “Death to Israel,” “Death to America,” “Death to Britain,” “Israel will be annihilated,” and “Palestine is
victorious.”