By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Two years after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Palestinian Resistance groups marked the anniversary by reaffirming that resistance remains the only path to liberation, honoring fallen leaders, and vowing to continue the struggle despite Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

On the second anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Palestinian Resistance groups issued a unified statement reaffirming that resistance in all its forms remains “the only viable path to confront the Zionist occupation.”

The statement stressed that “no party has the right to relinquish the weapons of the Palestinian people,” describing such arms as “legitimate and guaranteed under all international laws and conventions.” 

It also denounced the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, as “one of the most brutal and bloodiest wars in history,” calling it a “genocidal war” waged amid “the betrayal and silence of the international community.”

According to the Gaza Government Media Office, the occupation has dropped more than 200,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza over two years, destroying nearly 90 percent of the Strip’s infrastructure and displacing more than two million civilians. 

Despite this unprecedented devastation, the groups asserted, “Israel has failed to achieve its primary objectives, foremost among them eliminating the resistance and retrieving its captives by force.”

“Despite the pain, wounds, and immense sacrifices, the steadfastness of our people in the Gaza Strip has formed a rock upon which all the enemy’s conspiracies have been shattered,” the statement read. Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was described as “a historic milestone in the path of resistance” and “a natural response to ongoing schemes targeting the Palestinian cause.”

Collapse of the Zionist Narrative

The Resistance groups pointed to Israel’s political and military failures as evidence of Palestinian resilience. Despite continuous bombardment and siege, the Resistance has maintained internal cohesion, sustained its military functions, and secured the release of hundreds of prisoners through negotiated exchanges.

They noted that the occupation has failed to dismantle the Resistance’s military structure or establish full control over Gaza, despite its declared objective to “eliminate Hamas.” 

“The events that unfolded at the United Nations during Netanyahu’s recent speech,” the groups added, “stand as clear evidence of the collapse of the Zionist narrative in the face of our people’s steadfastness and the reality of the crimes committed by the occupation.”

Weapons of the People are Non-Negotiable

Reiterating their unified position, the Resistance groups declared: “The choice of resistance in all its forms will remain the only path to confront the usurping Zionist enemy.” 

They affirmed that Palestinian arms “will be inherited generation after generation until the liberation of the land and the holy sites is achieved, and until our people gain freedom and their legitimate rights, regardless of the sacrifices.”

The groups praised Gaza’s fighters for preserving their weapons and unity “despite unprecedented destruction and isolation,” affirming that “these arms symbolize the dignity and determination of a people that refuses to surrender.”

Marking the anniversary, they called upon Arab and Islamic nations to “take the initiative” by filling the streets and squares of their capitals in solidarity with Palestine and its resistance, and in rejection of “the genocidal crimes committed by the Zionist killing machine.” 

The Resistance groups also urged governments and popular movements across the region to “intensify political and economic pressure to isolate the Zionist entity” and support international efforts demanding an end to the blockade on Gaza.

Tribute to Fallen Leaders and Regional Allies

The unified statement extended greetings to all support fronts in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, commending their “steadfast and principled positions.” It saluted the fallen resistance leaders and commanders, including Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, Mohammad Bagheri, Hossein Salami, Gholam Ali Rashid, and Mohammad Saeed Izadi, along with “all those who have fallen on the fronts of confrontation and support.”

The Resistance groups paid special tribute to the architects of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, naming “the great commanders Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya al-Sinwar, and Mohammad al-Deif,” alongside other resistance figures whose “heroism and sacrifices will be immortalized in history, written in letters of light.”

Hamas: ‘Two Years of Legendary Steadfastness’

In a separate statement, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas hailed the “legendary steadfastness” of the Palestinian people in Gaza after two years of Israeli genocidal attacks and forced displacement.

“Two years have passed and our people are still rooted on their land, adhering to their legitimate rights in the face of plans of dispossession and forced displacement,” Hamas said. 

“Two years of legendary steadfastness and resilience by the courageous Palestinian resistance have passed amid one of the harshest settler-colonial occupations known to humanity.”

The movement said that the Israeli army continues its “brutal and genocidal attacks against Palestinian civilians amid shameful international silence and complicity, and unprecedented Arab failure.”

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Hamas also commemorated its deceased leaders, including political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and his successor Yahya Sinwar, both killed in Israeli attacks, affirming that “their blood will continue to inspire the path of resistance until liberation.”

Since October 2023, the Israeli military has killed over 67,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in a relentless offensive that has rendered the Gaza Strip all but uninhabitable, leading to mass displacement, starvation, and the spread of disease.

Despite the devastation, the Resistance declared that its resolve remains unbroken: “Our arms are the arms of a people defending their existence, their dignity, and their homeland—and these arms shall never be laid down until Palestine is free.”

(PC, Al Mayadeen, Social media)