Israel had been monitoring Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah for months before the assassination. This was reported by The New York Times in reference to senior Israeli officials.
Israeli leaders had known of Hassan Nasrallah’s whereabouts for months and decided to attack him last week because they believed they had only a brief window of opportunity before the Hezbollah leader disappeared elsewhere, three senior Israeli defense officials said. – write the post.
Two of the officials said more than 80 bombs were dropped in a matter of minutes to eliminate Nasrallah. They did not mention the weight or brand of the bombs.
Hezbollah agents discovered and identified Nasrallah’s body early Saturday morning, as well as the body of a senior Hezbollah military commander. Ali Karakiofficial sources said, citing intelligence received from Lebanon. The three officials spoke on condition of anonymity. On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed that Nasrallah was killed in Israeli strikes.
“The operation was planned since earlier in the week, when Israeli political leaders spoke with their American counterparts about the possibility of a ceasefire in Lebanon, and before the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel to give a speech at the United Nations” – reports the newspaper.
The three officials said Nasrallah’s cousin Hashem Safieddinwho is a key player in the movement’s political and social work, is one of the few surviving senior Hezbollah leaders who was not present at the site of the attack. Sources believe that Safieddin, who has long been considered a potential successor to Nasrallah, will soon be announced as Hezbollah’s new secretary general.
