PNN – Israel had spent decades projecting an image of military superiority, intelligence superiority, and unchallenged control. Operation Al-Aqsa Storm shattered this image in a single morning.
The bold Palestinian resistance operation, which took place on October 7, 2023, under the title “Al-Aqsa Storm”, has become a global awakening; a moral, spiritual, and political uprising against occupation and injustice.
On the occasion of the second anniversary of the operation, Nawaf Takrouri, the head of the Palestinian Council of Scholars, gave an in-depth analysis of the significance of this milestone, its impact on the occupying regime, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza in an exclusive interview with the news website Ilke. According to him, Operation Storm al-Aqsa exposed the true face of the occupiers and revived the Palestinian cause after years of neglect and betrayal.
Below, you will read Nawaf Takrouri’s analysis of Operation Storm Al-Aqsa and its results.
Al-Aqsa Storm Shatters the Myth of Israel’s Invincibility
Israel had spent decades projecting an image of military superiority, intelligence superiority, and unchallenged control. Operation Al-Aqsa Storm shattered this image in a single morning. It irreversibly shattered the enemy’s power. The Israeli regime was humiliated before the world.
This operation revealed what was hidden: the destruction of hospitals, schools, and mosques; the massacre of children and women; and the hypocrisy of those who claim to defend human rights. All these crimes were exposed to the world. The resistance’s ability to infiltrate Israeli-controlled areas, seize military bases, and capture Israeli forces dealt a psychological and strategic blow to the occupiers that were unprecedented since 1948.
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Genocide out of desperation, not power
Following this operation, the Zionist regime launched an all-out assault on Gaza, a campaign of genocide, starvation, and destruction now in its second year. These crimes are born not of self-confidence, but of terror and humiliation.
Every crime the occupiers commit today is to restore some of their lost dignity. Their massacres are driven by madness. They have lost control of the narrative, their military credibility, and their moral standing. They kill to appear strong, but every bomb they drop only reveals their weakness more.
Despite the unimaginable toll of casualties, more than 67,000 martyrs and more than 170,000 wounded, the people of Gaza remain steadfast. Families endure hunger, displacement, and the loss of entire neighborhoods, but they refuse to abandon their land. The enemy’s power is hollow. It is the steadfastness of our people that terrifies them.
The storm that hit the world
Operation Storm Al-Aqsa was not limited to the borders of Gaza, but its effects spread across continents, exposing hypocrisy and deception and inspiring solidarity. It spread throughout the world. It portrayed the human and principled face of free people, students, activists and citizens who took to the streets of London, New York, Madrid and Jakarta. At the same time, it exposed the lies of Western democracies from Washington and Paris to Berlin, whose leaders talk about freedom but support genocide.
Since October 2023, millions of people around the world have joined unprecedented demonstrations in support of Palestine, while several governments, including Spain, Ireland, and South Africa, have taken courageous stands against the crimes of the Zionist regime. In contrast, so-called human rights defenders in the US and Europe have armed the occupiers and vetoed ceasefire resolutions at the UN, deepening global disillusionment with Western moral leadership.
Normalization collapsed under the weight of the truth.
Before the storm, several Arab countries were rushing towards normalizing relations with the Zionist regime. Today, these projects have turned into ruins. The storm closed the way to normalization for any decent person. Those who once sought to embrace the occupier are now ashamed and silent before their own people. If normalization continues, it will be by corrupt leaders, not nations. The people of the Muslim Ummah have spoken the final word: Palestine is not for sale.
From Morocco to Indonesia, public anger has forced governments to reconsider their relations with the Zionist regime. Public opinion in the Muslim world has shifted decisively in favor of the Palestinian resistance and against those who align themselves with Tel Aviv or Washington.
No decision is made without the fighters on the battlefield.
The recent plan presented by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is nothing more than an attempt to restore colonial rule. It is not a peace plan. This is a new Sykes-Picot (agreement) prepared to redesign the region under Zionist-American rule. No decision about Gaza or Palestine can be made without considering the Mujahideen fighting on the ground. Any country that does otherwise has committed treason.
Expanding the occupation, not ending the war
Trump’s peace plan is an extension of the occupation. Any real agreement must include the complete withdrawal of Zionist forces, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the recognition of an independent Palestinian state. What is being proposed is a trap. This is an occupation not only of Palestine, but of any Arab country that signs it. The messages from Gaza are clear; do not accept this agreement. It will not end the massacres or the displacement, it will increase them.
Moral awakening for humanity
Beyond the battlefield, Operation Al-Aqsa Storm has also sparked a global moral awakening. Images of perseverance and faith from Gaza have inspired movements around the world, with activists, students, and ordinary citizens challenging the silence of their governments.
The people of Gaza have awakened the conscience of the world with their suffering. The youth in Western universities, the people who demonstrate in the streets, those who boycott and speak the truth; these are all the fruits of the Al-Aqsa storm. In fact, the operation has united diverse movements under a common call for justice; anti-war coalitions, anti-colonial activists, and faith-based communities have revived a global solidarity similar to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.
Faith, Resistance, and the Promise of Liberation
The occupiers believe that destruction can silence our spirit. But every destroyed house, every martyred child, strengthens our resolve. The occupation will only disappear after its complete disgrace and the destruction of its false image. Resistance rooted in faith and justice is the only way out. The Mujahideen in Gaza are fighting not for political power, but for the honor of this nation. They are the conscience of our time. No agreement, no power, no external pressure can silence them or erase their sacrifice.
A legacy beyond borders
Two years after Operation Storm of Al-Aqsa, the struggle for Palestine has evolved from a local resistance to a global Islamic movement. Yemen’s missile operations against the Israeli regime, Hezbollah’s border clashes, and solidarity demonstrations from Jakarta to Johannesburg are all evidence of the expansion of the resistance front.
The Palestinian struggle has become the moral compass of the Muslim world; an ideal that unites the oppressed and exposes the deceit of the oppressors. Operation Storm al-Aqsa was not simply a military event. It was the rebirth of an ideal, the awakening of a nation, and the beginning of the end of a worn-out occupation.