Iranian spy revealed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah’s location before Israeli airstrike: Report

The spy disclosed that Nasrallah would be attending a meeting with senior Hezbollah members at the group's underground headquarters in southern Beirut.

Hours later, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed his death, stating, "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."

Hezbollah later released a statement mourning Nasrallah’s death, saying, "Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah... has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years."

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Israel’s growing success in targeting Hezbollah is tied to its increased intelligence resources following the 2006 conflict with the Iran-backed group.

Although the war ended in an UN-brokered ceasefire, it pushed Israel to enhance its espionage capabilities.

New teams were formed within combat ranks to make sure critical information was swiftly passed on to soldiers and the air force, it added.

Unit 8200, Israel’s signals intelligence agency, developed advanced tools to intercept Hezbollah’s communications, contributing to several high-profile strikes.

Among Israel’s intelligence victories, the report highlighted a 2008 operation in which Mossad collaborated with the CIA to eliminate Hezbollah operative Imad Mugniyah in Syria.

Israel also passed intelligence to the U.S. in 2020, leading to the assassination of Iranian commander Qassim Suleimani in Baghdad.

As tensions escalated following Hamas' attacks on Israel in October 2023, Tel Aviv stepped up its efforts against Hezbollah.

Strikes in recent months killed several top Hezbollah commanders, including Fuad Shukr, Ibrahim Aqil, Ibrahim Mohammed Kobeissi, and Mohammed Srur. Hezbollah’s communication methods, including booby-trapped pagers provided by Israeli agents, were compromised as part of Israel’s long-term strategy.

Nasrallah had admitted, in a recent televised speech, an "unprecedented blow" was dealt to Hezbollah after Israel blew up pagers laced with explosives and hand-held radios. At least 37 people were killed and nearly 3,000 people injured in two days.

Nasrallah had then warned Israel of "tough retribution and just punishment, where it expects it and where it does not".

Former CIA analyst Chip Usher commented on Israel’s approach, saying, "They're in a shadow war with Hezbollah and Iran. And they're extraordinarily patient."