Oct. 7 Operation Kept So Secret Even Haniyeh Was Unaware of Timing: Qaani

In comments at a televised interview on Friday, IRGC Quds Force Chief Brigadier General Esmaeil Qaani highlighted the extraordinary level of secrecy that surrounded the Al-Aqsa Storm operation launched against the Zionist regime on October 7, 2023.

“A notable point was that neither we, nor Seyed Hassan, nor even the senior leaders of Hamas were informed of the exact timing of this operation. When the start of the operation in Gaza was announced, Haniyeh was on his way to the airport for travel to Iraq and effectively learned about it while returning,” Qaani said.

He explained that, although no one had been told in advance of the launch of the operation, “martyr Seyed Hassan Nasrallah had carefully and methodically specified the necessary stages.”

The Quds Force commander added, “Until his martyrdom, the late Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, at sensitive moments, challenged the Zionists in psychological and military warfare with prudence and firmness.”

He pointed to a critical two-week stretch during which Nasrallah refrained from delivering speeches. “In that period, without even speaking, he terrified the Zionist regime and showed that he was masterful over all dimensions of the war, from military to psychological.”

General Qaani stated that the pressures mounted by Hezbollah forced the Zionist regime to deploy one-third of its army to southern Lebanon. “The regime could not withstand this and the equation of the war was overturned,” he stressed.

The Iranian commander went on to describe “a series of crimes—from the martyrdom of commanders to the pager-explosion incident—that ultimately culminated in the great crime of Seyed Hassan Nasrallah’s martyrdom.” Qaani said that in the assassination strike, “in addition to heavy bombs, chemical agents were also used, which turned it into an obvious war crime.”

The commander noted that Hezbollah’s extensive use of drones and missiles against sensitive Israeli positions has been underreported. “Only two days before the regime requested a ceasefire, Hezbollah fired more than 350 small and large missiles at the enemy,” he stated. “These operations included an attack on soldiers’ mess halls, an attack on Haifa, and even on Netanyahu’s residence, all of which demonstrated the unparalleled military and psychological capabilities of Hezbollah’s forces.”

Qaani reaffirmed the course of the resistance, saying, “The strategy of resistance is victory and we will continue to win; this strategy will break the back of Israel and America. Now Hamas and the other Palestinian resistance currents possess stronger missiles, and despite the regime’s restrictions and losses, the enemy’s objectives have not been achieved and the resistance remains stronger than ever.”/tasnim