ALBAWABA - Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has unveiled critical details about Israel’s targeted assassinations of key figures in Hezbollah and Hamas, along with other significant military operations.
Speaking to Channel 12, Gallant revealed that the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was planned for Friday, September 27. He stated that Nasrallah had been at the targeted location for days, raising concerns that he might leave at any moment.
Gallant explained that on Sunday, September 22, Israel’s Chief of Staff and Air Force Commanders presented him with an operational plan. When he inquired about the probability of success, they estimated 90%, with an initial plan to use 40 tons of explosives. Gallant instructed them to double the amount to 80 tons, aiming to push the success rate to 99%.
Two days before the planned strike, at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, September 25, the Chief of Staff outlined the mission. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu halted the discussion, stating that a final decision would be made after his return from the U.S. on Sunday.
On September 27, Gallant and the Chief of Staff set the execution for 6:00 PM. When they informed Netanyahu, he approved but requested a 30-minute delay so he could finish his speech at the United Nations General Assembly. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and at 6:20 PM, the Israeli Air Force dropped 84 one-ton bombs, eliminating Nasrallah.
Gallant also revealed that on September 20, Israeli intelligence located top Hezbollah commanders, including Ibrahim Aqil, in a single location. After deliberation, Israel executed a strike, eliminating the leadership of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, responsible for planning cross-border attacks into Israel.
Following Hezbollah’s retaliation on Saturday night, Israel responded with massive airstrikes on Sunday and Monday, hitting over 1,000 targets in Lebanon within 24 hours. Gallant claimed that Hezbollah initially had 5,500 long-range missiles capable of reaching central Israel, but after the strikes, only a few hundred remained.
Regarding Hezbollah’s pager devices, Gallant described their destruction as a "minor operation", revealing that booby-trapped communication systems were stored in Hezbollah’s facilities and were intended to disrupt their military infrastructure.
He also stated that Hezbollah started the war with 44,000 rockets, but Israeli operations reduced its arsenal to less than 10,000.
Gallant criticized Netanyahu’s response to Hamas’s October 7 attack, revealing that he learned about the assault while cycling, from a call by his daughter. He asserted that Israeli military leadership was initially unaware of the full extent of the attack.
He further claimed that Netanyahu was in a fragile mental state throughout the war and that some Israeli units implemented the Hannibal Directive, which mandates preventing soldier abduction at all costs, while others failed to apply it—causing operational confusion.
Gallant concluded that Netanyahu prioritized former U.S. President Donald Trump’s considerations over everything else, even more than National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and that Israel’s policies have significantly changed under President Joe Biden.
