New Details on Nasrallah's Assassination
How Nasrallah’s Ghost Drives Hezbollah’s Unyielding Power
One year after the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli intelligence reveals details of his secret Beirut bunker and failed recovery efforts. Hezbollah, led by Na’im Qassem, reaffirms its refusal to disarm, marking the anniversary with speeches and commemorations.
On the first anniversary of the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released rare insights into the operation that eliminated him in a precise airstrike in Beirut on September 27, 2024. The IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate disclosed new details about the lead-up to the strike and Hezbollah’s failed attempts to recover, shedding light on how Israeli forces located Nasrallah’s secret underground bunker.
According to IDF intelligence officials, Nasrallah went into hiding after the elimination of Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah commander, during Operation "Pagers" earlier in September 2024. Believing he was not the next target, Nasrallah attempted to regroup Hezbollah, restore its shattered command structure, and plan new attacks. However, these efforts collapsed one after another. Years of meticulous Israeli surveillance culminated in pinpointing Nasrallah’s location in a fortified, Iranian-designed underground bunker in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, constructed with strict secrecy even from his closest aides.
On September 27, 2024, at 6:21 PM, the Israeli Air Force executed Operation "New Order," dropping 83 bombs on the underground command complex. The strike killed Nasrallah, Ali Karki (commander of Hezbollah’s southern front), and several other senior operatives. Moments after the operation, the Air Force commander addressed the pilots: “We will get to everyone. Keep up the same professionalism, keep up the same calm. We’re on the right path.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah marked the anniversary with ceremonies in Beirut, including a minute of silence at 6:21 PM to commemorate the exact moment of Nasrallah’s death. In a dramatic address broadcast on giant screens, acting Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed to continue the group’s fight. “Our enemies will find no peace as long as you are among us, and they will not win as long as your children and loved ones remain loyal to the covenant,” Qassem declared, rejecting Western calls to disarm. “We will not abandon the battlefield or lay down our weapons.”
Qassem accused Israel and the United States of aiming to crush resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, claiming Israel violated a ceasefire agreement with ongoing aggression. “The U.S. backed Israel to achieve politically what it couldn’t on the ground,” he said, adding that Hezbollah fighters are fortifying positions in southern Lebanese villages to confront “the Israeli enemy.” He also criticized Lebanon’s government for missteps on disarmament and called for prioritizing national sovereignty, while thanking Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the allied Amal movement. “There is no difference between Hezbollah and Amal – we are one resistance,” Qassem asserted, ending with a pledge to follow Nasrallah’s path.
Concurrently, Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen channel aired what it claimed was Nasrallah’s “final photo,” taken days before his death in an operations room with a map of Israel on the wall.
The IDF’s revelations come amid heightened tensions, with Hezbollah refusing to disarm despite pressure from the U.S. and Lebanon. The group’s defiance coincides with other regional developments, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s UN speech yesterday, where he claimed victories over Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran’s nuclear program, and ongoing Israeli strikes in Gaza reported just before his address.