Following a tense morning where the IDF reportedly intercepted a wide missile attack from Hezbollah planned for the significant Shi’i commemoration day of Arba’iniyat Al-Hussain, the Iranian proxy claimed in a formal statement that all rockets and drones that were planned to take part in the attack were indeed operated and pledged to have ended its operations for the day.
Some Hezbollah aficionados lauded the attack, sharing images of damaged houses and small fires that erupted as a result of the attack, while others claimed in a conspiratorial tone that this was an “Implicit coordinated response between the two parties,” adding: “initial response to Israel a chicken coop was destroyed, killing a number of chickens and chicks and breaking thousands of eggs. Damn you scoundrels, you and the Iranian Houthis, you laugh at the Arab peoples, you and the Zionists are two sides of the same coin, implementing one project and one goal.”
رد حزب الله الغالب اليوم أثلج وشفا صدورنا سلام الله عليكم ياسادة المجاهدين، #علي_جنوب_لبنان #علي_لبنان #الجيش_الاسراييلي pic.twitter.com/yKUGhhFcj0
— محمد علي ـMuhammad Ali (@mmdly135395) August 25, 2024
However, the relatively low-key impact and damage of the attack sparked a wave of online comments from users around the Arab world mocking Hezbollah for its actions, and focusing especially on reports of damaged chicken pens in the Galilee region.
الرد الاولي لحزب الله على #اسرائيلتم دك حضيرة دجاج، ومصرع عدد من الدجاجات والفراخ وتكسير الاف البيض تبا لكم من اوغاد انتم وحوثة ايران تضحكون على الشعوب العربيه وانتم والصهاينه وجهان لعمله واحده تنفذون مشروعا واحدا واهدافا واحده pic.twitter.com/7RPKKWnndY
— احمد المسيبلي (@Ahmedmosibly) August 25, 2024
Mockery across the Arab world
One Kuwaiti user named Fahed uploaded a picture of a dead chicken, adding cynically: “Allahu Akbar! Hassan Nasrallah’s response! Hezbollah’s response! The number of chicken injuries rose to 27 chickens, 5 of them are critically injured, with first-degree burns to the wings and beak, after the chicken pen was targeted in response to the assassination of Fouad Shukr. He says ‘Our missiles are accurate!’”
A parody account named after Syrian tyrant Bashar Al-Assad wrote “A video showing the result of Hezbollah’s response to Israel, where dozens of Israeli chickens were killed and wounded. Is it reasonable that my ally Hezbollah would respond to the assassination of the party’s top military commander by killing chickens? I will now call my friend Hassan Nasrallah to explain to him that Israel is a murderer and assassinated his leaders, not a midwife who delivered them so that he could slaughter chickens on this occasion.”
A Syrian user named Khaled added: “The chicken massacre was not a coincidence, but a strategic plan! The goal? To prevent the opponents and enemies of the ‘resistance’ from gloating after every bombing and saying ‘They didn’t even hurt a chicken.’ Hezbollah finished off the chickens and chicks with premeditation and deliberation, in order to deprive us of the pleasure of joking and mocking its response and missiles!”
مجزرة الدجاج ما كانت صدفة، بل خطة استراتيجية! الهدف؟ منع خصوم وأعداء "المقاومة" من الشماتة بعد كل قصف والقول “ولا جرحوا جاجة”. حزب الله خلّص على الدجاج والصيصان مع سابق اصرار وترصّد، علشان يحرمنا متعة المزح والمسخرة على ردّه وصواريخه! pic.twitter.com/sNw1hntzNE
— خالد أبو صلاح - Khaled Abu Salah (@kh4syria) August 25, 2024
A Jordanian commenter added, “Iranian Hezbollah takes revenge for Fouad Shukr and Haniyeh by striking an Israeli chicken coop, killing a number of chickens?!!”
Another Saudi user named Sultan commented ironically: “Hezbollah’s retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Fu’ad Shuker struck a chicken pen where firefighting teams began to extinguish the fire. The results of the bombing: the death of a rooster, two hens, and a young chick.
One user named Omar compared the high-ranking leader assassinated by Israel and Hezbollah’s response, showing the burning chicken pen, while another user named Adel wrote, “Hezbollah excels in its precision in killing chickens.”
The Iranian-loyalist Hezbollah party in Lebanon has been targeting the North ever since Oct. 8, opting for a war of attrition over a large-scale invasion. Their attacks, which featured thousands of rockets and UAVs shot at Israeli communities and bases over the past 10 months, have resulted in several civilian deaths, as well as tens of thousands of evacuees across the country.