The newspaper’s report said that an Iranian envoy arrived in Beirut immediately after the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah’s “Nasser” unit in southern Lebanon, Talib Sami Abdullah, and met with those close to Hassan Nasrallah in a closed room to inform them of Iran’s concern that Israel was targeting Nasrallah himself.
According to the newspaper, it has long been understood that Hezbollah believes that Israel does not intend to eliminate Nasrallah, throughout the 32 years of his leadership of the party.
While Nasrallah remains the most prominent figure in the party, the newspaper says that reports that sometimes name potential successors likely bother Nasrallah, as Tel Aviv is suspected of leaking this information to weaken him and create internal tension in the Hezbollah leadership.
Locating Nasrallah
Yedioth Ahronoth said that the Mossad “seems to know the exact location of Nasrallah at all times. Even if he changes his locations, our men are well informed.”
The report adds, “Nasrallah himself knows that Israel can reach him, but is reluctant to do so.”
Despite the tight security around him, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen recently said: “We know the exact location of the secretary general of the terrorist organization, and we can eliminate him at any moment.”
He added: “If a decision is taken to settle scores with Nasrallah, Israel can do so at any time.”
Targeting leaders
Israel’s continued targeting of leaders of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, including more than 300 people, has raised questions about its strategic goal, especially with the preparations announced by Israeli officials regarding the northern border region.
Mahmoud Jaber, an expert in Iranian affairs and Shiite groups, believes that Israel’s goals can be deduced from these assassinations in 3 points:
- Targeting reputation… Hezbollah is one of the most influential political and military entities in the region, and has a large popular base in Lebanon and abroad. By targeting its leaders, Israel seeks to undermine this reputation and show it that it is unable to protect its leaders and supporters.
- Eliminating its strategic capabilities. The targeted party leaders constitute part of the nucleus of planning and decision-making. They possessed tremendous military and intelligence experience that enabled them to carry out successful operations against Israel. By targeting them, Israel wants to limit the party’s planning and implementation capabilities.
- Buying time.. Hezbollah is a constant threat to Israel, and targeting its leaders could disrupt its activities for a period, put it in a defensive position, and the party may be forced to undergo a strategic restructuring process. This gives Israel the necessary time to prepare and prepare to deal with any upcoming threats.
Deterrence message
The American expert specializing in political affairs, Irina Tuskerman, agrees that Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leaders aims to disrupt and deter the party.
At the same time, the American expert does not expect this goal to be achieved, but rather suggests that continued targeting will lead to a stronger reaction from Hezbollah.
Accordingly, Tuskerman considers that the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah leaders are “more of tactical value than strategic,” and Israel wants them to “demonstrate its ability to determine the identity and locations of the leaders, and that it is capable of reaching their locations.”
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