The assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September 2023 was the result of one of Israel’s most daring intelligence operations in decades, a mission carried out under heavy bombardment and at grave risk to Mossad operatives, Israeli media reported.

According to details published by Yedioth Ahronoth, the plot was set in motion as Israeli warplanes struck Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh. Amid the chaos, Mossad agents slipped into Haret Hreik, a densely built neighborhood where Hezbollah’s most sensitive underground bunker lay hidden beneath a high-rise apartment block.

Intelligence suggested Nasrallah was scheduled to meet there with Iran’s Quds Force commander in Lebanon, Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, and Hezbollah’s southern front chief, Ali Karaki, who was tipped as a possible successor. Only a handful of Hezbollah’s inner circle knew of the bunker’s existence.

The Mossad team carried disguised equipment designed to guide Israeli bombs precisely to underground targets. The devices, developed with Israel’s Defense Ministry, Rafael and Elbit Systems, and completed in 2022, allowed precision strikes even in rocky terrain where a one-meter deviation could mean failure.

The agents planted the devices and escaped undetected as Israeli bombs rained nearby. Days later, on September 27, 2023, ten Israeli jets dropped 83 U.S.-made BLU-109 bunker busters guided by the Mossad’s technology. 

The strike killed Nasrallah, Karaki, Nilforoushan and some 300 others, effectively decapitating Hezbollah’s command. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket, drone and missile barrages in an offensive it called Operation Khaybar. Its Shura Council quickly appointed Hashem Safieddine as Nasrallah’s successor, but he too was killed in an Israeli strike a week later. Deputy leader Naim Qassem then assumed leadership.