Lebanese MP Mohammad Raad during an interview with Al Mayadeen, which aired on Monday, 4 December 2023 (Screengrab)

The Israeli occupation's genocide of women and children and its destruction of residential neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals without any pretexts revealed its real image, that of brutality and expansionism, Lebanese MP Mohammad Raad told Al Mayadeen on Monday.

The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP talked to Al Mayadeen about the Israeli occupation's criminality and the martyrdom of his son, Abbas "Siraj" Raad, who ascended after an Israeli airstrike targeted a home in southern Lebanon on November 23.

The ongoing genocide, Raad stressed, nullified all the Israeli efforts that have been taking place for decades in a bid to garner legitimacy and international recognition.

"The Israeli entity has exposed itself and shown its truth that nullifies all legitimacy. It has proven morally unacceptable in the hearts of the people as it did yesterday, as it does today, and as it will tomorrow," he said.

Talking about the Resistance, on the other hand, Raad said: "I take pride in the path of resistance in which we were raised, and raised our children in; this approach that constantly reflects an abandonment of selfishness and self-interest to the benefit of dedication and sacrifice for the common good and the public conciseness."

"There is no greater act of generosity than martyrdom. Martyrs sacrifice their lives for others, the homeland, the people, dignity, and human values," Raad said.

"When a martyr is raised in your home and is a member of your family, that is all he is before martyrdom. After martyrdom, he becomes a son of the Ummah, that of the homeland and all people," the Lebanese MP said.

The father of martyr Siraj stressed that any family member ascending to martyrdom brings the entire family a sense of pride and holds them responsible in the sense that they need to achieve the martyr's goals because they are owed that due to their great sacrifice.

"The martyr is called a 'martyr' because he was striving for the sake of Allah, for the honor and benefit of others," he explained.

The martyrs of Gaza, Raad underlined, "Are a plea to humanity, a plea to the entire political world, a plea to all oppressive authorities and governments, whether neglectful of or exploiting the interests of their people."

"What is happening in Gaza is a massacre that is being watched by the world, and they may be afflicted with a great humiliation due to their abandonment of our people in Gaza," he added.

Siraj's martyrdom

MP Mohammad Raad recounted how he received the news of his son's martyrdom. He mentioned that he was in a work session around midnight when the news of Siraj's martyrdom reached Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's executive council. However, he himself had not known of Raad's fate at the time.

Sayyed Safieddine told Raad, "I want to tell you now before we leave the session... We received news that a certain point in the area of Beit Yahoun was attacked. Reports indicate that your son is present in this area."

Raad replied to Sayyed Safieddine, "We pray that Allah is satisfied and may he accept [our offering]. If he has earned martyrdom, may he bask in its bliss. And if we are blessed in this regard, then we, by the will of Allah, consider him a martyr for Allah's sake.

After that, communications about Siraj's fate gradually unfolded. "When the news of Abbas's martyrdom was confirmed, I went to deal with my martyred son as I used to deal with all my martyred children when I heard the news of their martyrdom and checked on them in the hospital before they were prepared for the funeral."

Siraj, he said of his son, was "brave and determined, relying on his Lord, proud of his leadership, and is committed to the leadership by obeying it and following its directives.

He "greatly loved His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and he was an admirer of martyred commander Qassem Soleimani to the extent that he named his child, who is now only four months old, Soleimani."

Following his son's martyrdom, "Sayyed Nasrallah was among the first few to offer his congratulations," Raad said, adding that he told the Secretary-General that this was due to his efforts in raising the Lebanese people on the path of Resistance.

"I consoled myself with his son, martyr Hadi Nasrallah. I had previously said that we can all learn from His Eminence how to be patient parents and how to maintain our foothold on the path of righteousness and that of Resistance, adoring it so much so that we decide to offer all that we have to achieve its goals," Raad stressed.

"I feel that it is a great divine blessing for all the Lebanese and for the Resistance fighters in Lebanon and the Arab region that Sayyed Nasrallah is a pillar of the leadership of the Axis of Resistance in this world."

Going back to his son, Raad said he had last seen Siraj six days ahead of his martyrdom. He said he was not involved whatsoever in his son's Resistance work and did not inquire about the details of his work as they are not of his concern. He said he never asked, and his son never told him any details about the work he had undertaken throughout his career of freedom fighting and Resistance.

Siraj's mother and wife

MP Raad underlined that his family was "indebted to the sincere and pure religious commitment present in the heart of his wife and Siraj's mother," as she has been keen on ensuring that everyone in the family performed their religious rites and abandoned all that is sinful, "which nurtured the family's faith and Resistance."

Raad also expressed his pride in the martyr's wife, who "endured her husband's long absence from home, taking care of the children and their schools and health. She took great care of them and fulfilled her duty by performing her children's rights. She was highly responsible and affectionate."

"We ask Allah almighty to accept our offerings and grant us more strength and determination to be able to continue down this path," Raad said, stressing that he and his family were prepared to offer everything they have for the sake of Allah.

Touching on local policy-making, Raad said his parliamentary bloc, the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, was prepared to partake in any talks that serve Lebanon's interests and those that serve "the interests of our Ummah and all that is righteous and just in this time."

At the conclusion of his interview, Raad thanked Al Mayadeen and all of its staff, offering his congratulations on the martyrdom of Al Mayadeen's correspondent, Farah Omar, and cameraman, Rabih Me'mari, as well as civilian Hussein Akil, all of whom were martyred by Israeli aggression on southern Lebanon despite them being there on duty as journalists.

He said they were killed while they were "on a mission to reveal the truth that frightens the Israeli enemy to the public opinion because it exposes its racism, brutality, and aggression."