Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has lived in extreme secrecy for the past two decades. He has not appeared in public since Hezbollah’s rally at the Raya Stadium in Beirut’s southern suburb, which was held to welcome back freed prisoners Samir Kuntar and his companions after the July 2006 war.
Since then, following serious Israeli threats to assassinate him, Nasrallah disappeared entirely. He no longer met with the public except through televised appearances, and only a select few from his inner circle knew of his whereabouts. Visitors and delegations who sought to meet him were subjected to strict and elaborate security measures, involving decoys and misdirection, so that even they did not know which route they had taken, where they entered, or how they left.
For 18 years, Nasrallah’s location remained a tightly kept secret. His party and followers were reassured by the extensive security measures in place, trusting Hezbollah’s security apparatus. That confidence, however, was shattered last Friday, in a shocking and unexpected blow that stunned both friends and foes alike.
Nasrallah was assassinated as a result of an unprecedented security breach within Hezbollah’s formidable security network, which had encircled the Lebanese for decades and outsmarted Israel’s intelligence and military capabilities.
The pressing question is: how did Israel manage to pinpoint Nasrallah’s location, track his movements, and strike at him?
Over 80 Tons of Explosives to Assassinate Nasrallah
Israeli intelligence reportedly knew of Nasrallah’s location for almost three months, but the decision to kill him was not made until last week. Once his precise location was confirmed, the order to attack was given. Israeli aircraft dropped tons of explosives on the site where Nasrallah was meeting with leaders of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council. The blasts rocked the southern suburb, flattening six civilian-occupied buildings, creating a massive crater, and reducing to dust everything and everyone in the vicinity. According to a medic on the scene, the bodies of Nasrallah and those with him were incinerated.
Hezbollah’s supporters are still in shock. Many refuse to believe he is dead, convinced that the entire operation was a ruse by Hezbollah to mislead Israel into thinking it had succeeded, while Nasrallah was secretly whisked away to a safe location known only to God.
Others, emboldened by the event, have openly accused Iran of betrayal. The phrase “the traitors sold us out” has spread across social media and among the public, with some claiming that Iran sacrificed Nasrallah to advance its nuclear negotiations and resolve its political and economic issues.
Still, others have resigned themselves to the tragic outcome, vowing swift and severe revenge, even if it means sacrificing the entire Shia community.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Israel had a ground-level informant. The speed with which Israel learned of Nasrallah’s movements, carried out the operation, and announced his death suggests that more than one person, or perhaps an entire unit within Hezbollah, collaborated with Israel, providing accurate intelligence on every detail of the operation.
Israeli intelligence, as widely reported, rarely trusts imagery alone, acting only after receiving confirmation from human sources within enemy territory. This view aligns with what was reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien the day after the assassination.
According to other reports, Nasrallah’s latest movements may have been orchestrated by Israeli deception. An informant supposedly misled Hezbollah’s security team, convincing them that Israel was planning a major assault on the southern suburbs, prompting them to move Nasrallah to a new location. The Israeli jets were waiting.
Nasrallah Assassinated While the “Supreme Leader” Remains Safe
In the final two weeks of September, marked by the wireless communication systems massacre, Israel’s ongoing war against Lebanon and Hezbollah’s support base, and Nasrallah’s assassination, Hezbollah seems to have entered a dark tunnel. It is witnessing the beginning of a tragic end to two pillars on which its power rested: arms and security.
Critics of Hezbollah’s dominance see this as an opportunity to revive Lebanon’s political life. Internal and external consultations have intensified, aimed at crafting a political plan to contain Hezbollah as a Shia political component, elect a new president, and revive the diplomatic initiative to implement UN Resolution 1701.
Meanwhile, Tehran enjoyed a peaceful night, untouched by the chaos. The Iranian leadership announced that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been moved to a secure location to ensure his safety. Behind the scenes, Iran’s leaders, both conservatives and reformists, are drawing up new plans to continue their infiltration of Arab societies through sectarianism, religious divides, and their disingenuous support for the Palestinian cause—achieving what Israel could not.