Zionist regime’s Nuseirat massacre ‘terrible defeat’ for regime: Hezbollah deputy chief

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Saturday that the “despicable” attack on Nuseirat represents no achievements for the Israelis.

“The Israeli military said the attack was part of an offensive to release four Israeli captives held by the Hamas resistance movement; however, the Zionist enemy did not tell people that the price paid to get them out of [Gaza] was 120,000 Palestinian men and women wounded and martyred [during the war] in addition to thousands of dead and wounded Israelis,” Sheikh Qassem said.

“If we talk about this event, we say that it is despicable, and we say that it is considered a terrible defeat that Israel will not be able to release some of its prisoners except after terrible crimes, and after it has killed and wounded thousands of Israeli soldiers.”

“What achievement is this?” he asked.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, the Israeli massacre at the Nuseirat refugee camp killed 210 Palestinians and wounded more than 400.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals are swamped by an “overwhelming number of severely injured patients, many of whom are women and children.”

Hamas said later that other Israeli captives were killed by the Israeli attack on the camp, not specifying the circumstances or how many were killed.

Elsewhere, Sheikh Qassem said the resistance will be “victorious” pointing out that Hamas Operation Al-Aqsa Strom already constituted a “great achievement” for the Palestinians.

“Today the whole world is talking about the Palestinian issue, demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians, and holding protest rallies against the Zionist regime,” he said.

He added that several countries have withdrawn their diplomats from the Israeli-occupied territories in protest at Israeli atrocities in Gaza, and more than 140 members of the United Nations have recognized a Palestinian state.

“And none of these existed prior to Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” Sheikh Qassem underscored.

“Such monsters, the Israelis, and the US administration that sponsors them, cannot make any success, no matter how long it takes,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Mohammad al-Hindi, deputy secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad resistance movement, said on Saturday that the Israeli attack on the Nuseirat camp will not affect the prisoner-for-captive exchange agreement between the occupying regime and the Palestinians

He said the Gaza-based group will not engage in any deals unless the Israeli regime abides by the conditions of Palestinian resistance factions.

“The occupation [offensive] in Nuseirat will not affect the exchange deal, as there is no exchange without fulfilling the conditions of resistance,” he added.

“The resistance front does not give in to any pressure to accept the prisoner exchange deal with Israel. We only want a cessation of the ongoing military aggression and withdrawal of occupiers,” Hindi pointed out.

Hindi also noted that the Zionist enemy tends to “exaggerate” its military offensives.

“What is quite clear is that the effect of Israeli attacks is limited. The enemy has so far failed to defeat the resistance front in Gaza, and has been unable to secure the release of its captives.”

Separately, the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the “horrific massacre” targeting Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, stating that the aggression is in flagrant breach of international law and humanitarian principles, including the Geneva Conventions.

The ministry expressed its grave concern over the repercussions of the Zionist aggression, warning of its potential impact on regional and international peace and security.

It called upon permanent members of the Security Council, particularly the United States, Britain and France, to fulfill their obligations under the UN Charter and cease their unwavering support for the Tel Aviv regime.

The Yemeni foreign ministry also urged the Arab countries that are weighing the normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel to reconsider their decision, emphasizing that the Palestinian cause and establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital are of profound importance.

It reaffirmed Yemen’s unwavering support for the Palestinian nation, stressing that Yemeni naval units will continue their operations against Israeli-linked merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the Gaza war ends, the all-out blockade on the coastal territory is lifted, and humanitarian aid flows freely into the region.

Israel waged the atrocious onslaught against the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences, and houses of worship after Palestinian resistance movements launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping regime on October 7.

At least 36,801 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and another 83,680 individuals have sustained injuries. More than 1.7 million people have been internally displaced during the war as well.