Marking the first anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah's former Secretary-General on September 27, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed new information about the operation, saying that spies infiltrated the Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut under fire, planting devices that guided airstrikes that killed Hassan Nasrallah.
The newspaper said Israel began dismantling Hezbollah’s senior command in July 2024.
Fuad Shukr, Nasrallah’s top military adviser, was killed in late July, depriving Nasrallah of his main strategist. Israel then assassinated Hezbollah commanders one by one.
The newspaper said the Israeli army also crippled Hezbollah’s battlefield capabilities, systematically striking anti-tank squads and rocket launchers, and in mid-September carried out the pagers operation, which disabled Hezbollah communications and caused mass casualties.
Some Israeli security officials say preparations for the covert pagers operation were simple compared with the planning of Nasrallah’s assassination, carried out under fire and at grave risk to Mossad operatives.
The newspaper said intelligence delivered to Unit 8200 and Military Intelligence indicated that Nasrallah was scheduled to meet there with Iran’s Quds Force commander in Lebanon, General Abbas Nilforoushan, and Hezbollah’s southern front chief, Ali Karaki, who was viewed as a possible successor to Nasrallah.
Only a handful of Hezbollah’s security guards and inner circle knew the bunker even existed. According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the Mossad operatives were to place their devices at pre-planned points inside the building above the compound.
They assessed their chances of survival at no better than 50-50. Even if Hezbollah’s men failed to spot them, they still risked being struck by shrapnel from Israeli bombs raining down nearby.
Under Fire
The Israeli agents said they demanded that the air force halt its heavy bombardments during their infiltration, particularly in Haret Hreik, the stronghold of Nasrallah.
But the handler insisted the opposite: the raids would not only continue but intensify, forcing Hezbollah guards to take cover and giving the agents a chance to reach the bunker.
The Mossad team crept through narrow alleys, hugging walls. Their destination was a high-rise apartment block.
Under the pounding of Israeli bombs, the Mossad team completed its mission. They planted the devices exactly where planned and slipped away undetected, the Yedioth Ahronoth report said.
Something Out of Science Fiction
The equipment the team carried sounded like something out of science fiction.
Completed in 2022, about a year before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, it was designed to allow precision strikes at varying depths underground.
The Mossad had sought the technology not only for Lebanon but also for a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear program.
The newspaper said that the project involved the Defense Ministry’s weapons development unit, intelligence and technology specialists, the air force, and defense companies Rafael and Elbit.
Revealing further details on the operation, the newspaper said that on Sept. 27, 2023, at 6:20 pm, 10 Israeli fighter jets dropped 83 one-ton bombs on the target.
The strike involved F-15I Ra’am jets from Squadron 69, known as the Hammers, and F-16I Sufa jets. The bombs, US-made BLU-109 bunker busters known in Israel as heavy hail, carried both GPS guidance and the specialized targeting system placed earlier by Mossad.
