The assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, will have a dramatic effect on the Middle East and beyond. Fully funded and supported by Iran, Hezbollah has been that country’s largest proxy terror organization, and was established to threaten Israel on her northern border and deter Israel from taking military action against Iran that could disrupt her nuclear ambitions. Hezbollah has a standing army of approximately 50,000 fighters and an arsenal of around 150,000 rockets that include short- and medium-range rockets, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones.
Over the past ten days, Israel has not only eliminated the head of Hezbollah, but also about 90% of its senior commanders and military advisors. According to sources in the foreign media, between 4,000 to 5,000 of Hezbollah’s mid-level commanders, who were in charge of operating the large arsenal of weapons systems threatening Israel, were injured or killed in the coordinated detonation of Hezbollah’s communication devices referred to as the “beeper attack.”
Since the October 7th attack on Israel’s southern communities by Hamas, also a terror proxy funded by Iran, Hezbollah has attacked the northern communities in Israel by firing tens of thousands of missiles on towns and villages, forcing the evacuation of upwards of 60,000 residents to temporary housing in hotels and other safe locations throughout Israel. With this in mind, it seemed somewhat surprising that the Prime Minister’s office announced that Benjamin Netanyahu would be flying out to the United Nations General Assembly to speak before world leaders. Many in Israel felt that the timing of this trip made no sense considering the hourly rocket attacks on northern Israel and the immediate danger these attacks pose to the civilians, not to mention the threat of an impending regional war.
On Friday September 27th, at 4:45 p.m. local Israel time, just before Shabbat, most Israelis were glued to their TV screens to listen to Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations. During the broadcast, it became clear to most that this was not one of Netanyahu’s best speeches, in many instances repeating previous statements concerning the danger of Iran to Israel, the Middle East, and the world. Netanyahu relied on Biblical passages that spoke about the curses and blessings that would be inflicted on those who attack the Jewish nation. Netanyahu informed world leaders that Israel would not settle for anything less than a total victory and the annihilation of the Hezbollah forces threatening the State of Israel. Again, these important declarations were meant to send a clear message to Iran, Hezbollah and their leaders, and the Sunni nations of the Middle East, yet nothing earth-shattering, and it certainly did not seem to justify leaving Israel during these perilous days. In retrospect, Netanyahu’s trip to the United Nations to speak before the General Assembly had one additional and strategically significant objective. For most, including Hasan Nasrallah and the Iranian military leadership, they interpreted Netanyahu’s trip to New York as the best opportunity and a window of opportunity to gather Hezbollah’s remaining military leadership under Iranian guidance to regroup and revise military plans for a major attack on the State of Israel. Nasrallah and his Iranian cohorts made the fatal mistake of assuming that during Netanyahu’s speech, Israel would not take the risk of world condemnation by attempting to eliminate the leader of Hezbollah.
Much has been written over the past year concerning Israel’s military and intelligence capabilities and the utmost importance of revealing as little as possible about their offensive potential. Israel has succeeded in keeping her enemies in the dark concerning intelligence infiltration, not only in Hezbollah and other Iranian proxy organizations, but also within the Iranian regime and military. For this fatal reason, Netanyahu’s trip to the United Nations became the perfect opportunity to fish out Nasrallah from his safe bunker. The diversion was well-executed: the fish swallowed the bait.
According to military correspondents, no less than 80 tons of “bunker-busting” bombs were dropped on four buildings in the heart of Beirut, killing Nasrallah, his remaining senior commanders, and Iranian advisors attending the meeting. The trip to New York, became the perfect diversion, allowing for the elimination of Hasan Nasrallah, who for 32 years has been at the forefront of Iran’s war against the State of Israel. His death was not just as a leader of Hezbollah, but as a Shiite figurehead integral to Iran’s goal of spreading its radical Islamic theology throughout the region and beyond. Since his death, the internet has been flooded by Sunni believers praising his death and thanking Israel for being responsible for ending the threat on all Sunni nations.
Another significant consequence of Nasrallah’s death may be on the negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages being held by Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terror organization. Until this week, Sinwar was operating under the false assumption that Israel would eventually cut a deal with him for the release of some of the hostages, allowing for him to claim victory and the rehabilitation of the Hamas terror organization. With Nasrallah’s timely death, Sinwar may very well understand that if he does not agree to a deal to release the hostages, his days may be numbered.
Many of the false assumptions and perceptions by terror leaders such as Nasrallah and Sinwar were based on believing Israel’s mainstream media reports, which for the past two years have reported day after day that Israel is a fragmented society on the verge of civil war, unable to resolve internal divisions. Instead, over the past year, hundreds of thousands of patriotic Israelis have served in their respective military units, paying a heavy price, yet allowing for Israel’s destruction of the Hamas terror organization and the continuing destruction of the Hezbollah, resulting in total victory for the State of Israel. n
Ron Jager grew up in the South Bronx and made aliyah in 1980. He served for 25 years in the IDF as a Mental Health Field Officer in operational units. Prior to retiring was Commander of the Central Psychiatric Clinic for Reserve Solders at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring has been involved in strategic consultancy to NGO’s and communities in the Gaza Envelope on resiliency projects to assist first responders and communities. Ron has written numerous articles for outlets in Israel and abroad focusing on Israel and the Jewish world. To contact: medconf@gmail.com or visit: www.ronjager.com.
