November 19, 2024
By Nasser Kandil
The resistance directed its missiles and drones to the southern and northern areas of Tel Aviv, carefully targeting military sites exclusively. Even when a missile landed near Ben Gurion Airport, it was tied to the nearby military base as the intended target.
Strategically, the resistance reserved strikes on central Tel Aviv, including its residential and commercial streets, to safeguard Beirut’s security. Despite the horrors of massacres committed against its people in the South, Dahiyeh, and the Beqaa, the resistance maintained composure, denying the occupying entity the pretext of framing Beirut’s bombing as retaliation for an unprovoked strike on Tel Aviv.
The resistance activated other equations, such as targeting Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, the Golan Heights, Tiberias, and Safed in response to attacks on the Beqaa. For assaults on southern Lebanon, it retaliated against northern settlements in occupied Palestine, while ensuring depth was met with depth. Striking Tel Aviv was preserved as a calculated card to defend Beirut’s integrity.
In line with the “capital for capital” equation, the resistance crafted similar frameworks, refraining from attacking power plants, oil tanks, airports, and ports. These measures were tethered to the principle of proportional retaliation, adhering to the “eye for an eye” doctrine.
Over a span of 36 hours, amid mounting negotiation pressures on the eve of the American envoy’s planned visit to Beirut and dissatisfaction with Lebanon’s responses, Beirut endured three airstrikes. Careful assessment revealed the absence of any legitimate military or security justification for these attacks, warranting the activation of the “Tel Aviv for Beirut” equation.
Perhaps the occupier assumed the resistance was incapable of striking central Tel Aviv, relying on the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and other air defences to intercept any incoming projectiles and thus a reality check was imperative. One missile sufficed to dispel their illusion.
Panic gripped settlers as the missile evaded interception and exploded in a commercial building, igniting fires and reverberating across Tel Aviv’s neighbourhoods. Thus, the new equation entered into force.
