(Jerusalem Post) In a secret and sophisticated operation, the Israel Defense Forces and Military Intelligence Directorate succeeded in assassinating Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in the heart of the Dahiya neighborhood in Beirut. Here’s how it happened.
Using advanced intelligence and a brilliant deception maneuver that included the Prime Minister’s flight to the US, security forces struck the organization’s leadership in what is defined as one of the most significant military operations.
Former Intelligence Division Head Aaron Haliva had already considered the option of a targeted assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on October 11, based on the intelligence agency’s advanced capabilities.
This capability, built over many years by Military Intelligence, was non-existent during the Second Lebanon War when there was no idea where he was hiding, and the dossier on him was minimal, if not operationally useless.
According to security sources, the political, intelligence, and operational conditions for Nasrallah’s assassination matured by Wednesday. Military Intelligence once again recommended action, and the political echelon approved it after being exposed to the intimate and sensitive intelligence collected to close the loop.
The preparation and decision for the targeted assassination began on Wednesday. The nerve-wracking wait was for precise and high-quality intelligence further to pinpoint the moment of the Hezbollah leadership meeting, showcasing arrogance and disconnect from the IDF’s intelligence and firepower capabilities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed business as usual, gave the green light for progress on the ceasefire process, and decided to fly to the US on the “Wing of Zion” aircraft (Israel’s version of Air Force One), part of what appears to be a deception maneuver to lull Hezbollah’s leadership, who took the bait.
