Full translation of the statement in which the head of Hamas’s military wing launched the attack on Israel
Last update: 2023-12-13 12:29:35
Oasis has translated for reference purposes the recorded audio address in which Muhammad Deif, commander-in-chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades launched the “al-Aqsa Flood” operation. Click here to read a commentary on the statement.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, prayer and peace be upon the Lord of Messengers and Guide of fighters, upon his family and companions.
In the words of the Most High: “The league will be routed and turn its back [to flee]. Indeed, the Hour is their tryst, and the Hour will be most calamitous and bitter” (Qur’an 54:45–46).
To the multitudes in our Arab-Islamic nation, from the Ocean to the Gulf, from Tangiers to Jakarta, to you, free men all over the world, may God’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.
The Zionist entity has occupied our land, driven out our people, destroyed our cities, our towns and our villages, committed hundreds of massacres against our people, killing children, women and the elderly, and buried innocent, peaceful people under the rubble of their homes, in contemptuous violation of all international norms and human rights and rejecting international laws. We warned the leaders of the occupation not to persist in their crimes and we appealed to world leaders to take action to end the occupiers’ crimes against our holy things, our people, our detainees and our land, and to compel the occupiers to abide by international law and resolutions. But the leaders of the occupation have not heeded us, nor have the world leaders taken action. Instead, the occupiers’ crimes have increased beyond all limits, especially in Jerusalem and the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two Qiblas and the third holiest site.[1]
The occupation forces have escalated their raids in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and they have trampled on its sacredness with their shoes. They have repeatedly attacked the guardians of the mosque,[2] beaten and manhandled them, shoved the elderly, children and young people, and prevented our people from getting to the mosque. They have allowed Jewish groups to defile the al-Aqsa Mosque with daily raids, perform Talmudic rituals and prayers and blow the horn[3] wearing priests’ garments. And they do not hide their intentions to build their purported temple on the ruins of the site of the Night Journey of our Prophet Muhammad,[4] prayer and peace be upon him.
The occupiers have brought their red cows to sacrifice them and sprinkle their ashes mixed with water to announce the demolition of al-Aqsa and the construction of their temple.[5] They have dared to insult our Prophet Muhammad, prayer and peace be upon him, inside the compound of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque. They have torn up copies of the Quran and taken dogs into the mosques.
Every day they impose new truths on the path of their dark dreams. Every day they attack our people in the neighbourhoods of Jerusalem. They ransack their homes and property. All the while, the occupation authorities continue to detain thousands of our heroes, and subject them to the most heinous forms of oppression, torture and humiliation. Hundreds of detainees have spent twenty or more years in the darkness of prisons. Dozens have been ravaged by cancer and disease. Many of our loved ones have died as a result of negligence or because they were deliberately left to die a slow death. Our calls for a humanitarian exchange agreement have been stubbornly rejected.
Every day the occupation forces storm our cities, our towns, and our villages across the West Bank, destroying them with their wickedness. They raid the homes of peaceful people, killing and injuring them, attacking and arresting them. This year there have been hundreds of martyrs and wounded victims of these crimes. Meanwhile, the occupiers seize thousands of dunams[6] of land, uproot our people from their homes, their land, and their tents, to build settlements in their place and defend the hordes of settlers who sow chaos, and burn, steal and destroy crops and livestock.
Since the criminal occupation continues to inflict an outrageous siege on our beloved Strip, and considering the ongoing crimes against our people and nation, the occupiers’ provocations and their disregard for international laws and resolutions, as well as American and Western support given to them and international silence, we have decided... we have decided to put a stop to all this with God’s help, so that the enemy can understand that no more can they sow chaos without being held to account. We announce the beginning of the “al-Aqsa Flood” operation and, with God’s help and might, we also announce that, in the first twenty minutes of the first attack, against the enemy’s military stations, airports and fortifications, more than 5,000 missiles and rockets were launched.
To the masses of our people and our nation, to the free men of the world, today the anger of al-Aqsa has exploded, the anger of our people, the anger of our nation, the anger of the free men of the world, of the righteous fighters. The time has come for you to make this criminal enemy understand that their time is up. “And kill them wherever you confront them, and expel them from where they expelled you” (Qur’an 2:191).
Do not kill the elderly and children, and remove this filth from your land and from your holy things. Fight and the angels will fight with you. God will guide you and will release His angels for you and will fulfil His promise for you. Our duty is to support believers. To you, young people in the West Bank, to all of you, regardless of your organisations, today is the day when you can sweep away these occupiers and their settlements from the whole of our land in the West Bank, and make them pay the price of the crimes committed throughout these long, wretched years.
Organise your attacks on the settlements using all the resources and tools at your disposal. Today, yes, from today, security coordination and its apparatus[7] are finished, and you can demonstrate that your patriotism and your affiliation to al-Aqsa, Jerusalem and Palestine are greater than all the delusions of the occupation. Today, yes, today, our people resume their revolution, rectify their path and return to the plan of liberation and the establishment of the state through blood and martyrdom.
To the people of Jerusalem, rise up and support your al-Aqsa. Drive out the occupation forces and the settlers from your Jerusalem and destroy the walls that keep you isolated. To you who live in Negev, Galilee, the Triangle, Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Lod and Ramla, set the earth on fire beneath the feet of the usurping occupiers. Kill, burn, destroy and block the roads. Make them understand that the al-Aqsa Flood is more powerful than they think and believe.
To the brothers in the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, the day has come when your resistance joins the people of Palestine, so that these cowardly occupiers understand that the time of their provocations, the time when ulamas and leaders are killed, and riches are looted is now over. The almost daily bombardment of Syria and Iraq is over; time is up for those who gamble on the division of the umma and the dispersal of its forces into internal conflicts. The time has come for all Arab and Islamic forces to join together to clear out this occupation from our sacred sites and from our land.
To the people of Jordan and Lebanon, of Egypt, Algeria and Morocco, of Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, and all parts of the Arab and Islamic homeland, start now, not tomorrow, your daily advance towards Palestine, and do not let borders, regimes or restrictions deprive you of the honour of jihad and your participation in the liberation of the al-Aqsa Mosque. “Go forth, whether [armed] lightly or heavily, and wage jihād with your possessions and persons in the way of God. That is better for you, should you know!” (Qur’an 9:41)
Today, this very today, anyone who has a rifle should get it out. Now is the time. And those who do not have a gun should take out a cleaver, an axe, a hatchet, Molotov cocktails, a truck, bulldozer or car.
Today, history opens its clearest, most noble and brightest pages. Who will record their name, their family name and the name of their city in the pages of light and glory? To the children of our nation, to the free men of the world, those who cannot take an active part in the al-Aqsa Flood should get involved by showing solidarity and support and by protesting. Take to the streets, raise the flag of freedom for Palestine and al-Aqsa, and declare sit-ins everywhere to prevent the regimes that have given support and cover to the occupiers’ crimes from continuing to be their accomplices. Today is the day of the great revolution that will end the last occupation and the last racist apartheid regime in the world.
To you righteous men and women, to you keepers of the Qur’an, to you guardians of the Book of God, to you worshippers who fast, who stand, kneel and bow down, gather in your mosques and places of worship, pray to God that He may grant us His victory, that He may send His angels to our rescue, and that He may fulfil your hopes of praying at a free and pure al-Aqsa. For He is “an excellent master and an excellent helper” (Qur’an 8:40).
In conclusion, everyone must follow the directions and instructions issued through the forthcoming military communications.
“God has [full] command of His affairs, but most people do not know” (Qur’an 12:21).
Your brother and commander-in-chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam martyrs brigades, Muhammad Deif.