Live Updates: Iran to hold five days of mourning for Nasrallah, Netanyahu returns to Israel

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert claimed that Israel was behind the previously unclaimed 2008 killing of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's then-military chief, in an interview on Channel 13 Saturday night. Olmert was Prime Minister at the time of the killing.

Imad Mughniyeh , the head of Hezbollah's military wing, was killed in a car explosion in Syria 16 years ago. In 2015, the killing was reported to have been a joint CIA-Mossad assassination , according to the Washington Post, however Israel never official claimed responsibility.

"We didn't talk about it in the past, but I think today we can already admit to this fact," Olmert said.

"We eliminated the greatest murderer, the most despicable, the most explosive they ever had, who built the entire Hezbollah army: Imad Mughniyeh. It was an operation that took place in another country, not in the country where he lived, not in Lebanon, in another country, and there were all kinds of dramatic circumstances that I can't talk about and don't want to talk about."

When asked for more information, Olmert confirmed that Mughniyeh indeed died of an explosion, with a device being placed under the bumper of a vehicle.

"What happened there?" the interviewer questioned, "How did it explode, what was the Arabs' involvement? What was your involvement?"

"There was definitely a Prime Minister's decision; here was something much more complex and complicated, but again, forget it, I'm not looking for credit," Olmert said.

"Endless James Bond actions were done."

"I'm not hiding it, and didn't hide it, that in the past I passed a plan that I formulated in cooperation and with the good suggestion of Uri Saguy, who was the head of Intelligence," he said. "And together, this plan was submitted to the Americans and the French. I think it's very similar to the principles they are also discussing with the Lebanese government."

The killing of Hassan Nasrallah

The interviewer also asked Olmert what he thought about the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and if the move should lead to an all-out war and evasion of Lebanon.

"The complete opposite," Olmert responded.

"Do you praise Prime Minister Netanyahu for this move?" the interviewer asked.

"After we foiled the nuclear reactor in Syria ... I didn't deal with distributing credits." Olmert responded, referring to Operation Orchard, which occurred in 2007 and wasn't officially confirmed until 2018. "That is, we didn't take responsibility for ten years."

"Since the only thing that really matters to the prime minister is the credit he receives. So I'm glad he made the decision to carry out this action, which was very important."

Resolution 1701

The interviewer also asked for Olmert's opinions on resolution 1701, which called for a ceasefire and withdrawal of troops between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Today's government, which talks all the time about 1701, but then said that I was a traitor, more or less, when we made this decision." Olmert began.

"This decision was implemented for a few years, until 'Mr. Security' came and pulled the wool over everyone's eyes, both from the north from Hezbollah, also from the south from Hamas, and focused on trying to thwart Iran in Tehran."

Olmert continued, saying that Netanyahu – or, 'Mr. Security' – needed to understand that pushing Hezbollah back a few kilometers wouldn't bring security to the North.

"[Hezbollah] they have missiles whose range is 40, 50, 100, and 200 kilometers," he said.

"That is, don't delude yourselves, and don't delude any residents of the north, that if they move 40 kilometers, a total solution has been reached."

Go to the full >>

F-15I aircraft from the 69th fighter squadron at 6:20 p.m. on Friday night dropped close to 100 bombs on Hezbollah's underground headquarters in the heart of Beirut, killing the terror group's chief of 32 years, Hassan Nasrallah , and potentially reordering the region.

Nasrallah was killed, alongside other Hezbollah commanders including Ali Karaki, Hezbollah's new military chief designate and current commander of the southern front, whom the IDF has just missed killing last week.

The attack involved a decade of intelligence collected both by the IDF and the Mossad as well as a variety of last-minute deceptions to ensure that Nasrallah would not flee the area.

It also involved GBU-31 bunker buster bombs in order to drive down deep enough under the large residential building in Beirut where the headquarters was hidden.

IDF Brig.-Gen. Amichai Levine, the newly appointed commander of the IAF's Hatzerim Airbase, said that a large number of aircraft dropped additional bombs one after the other every few seconds to ensure there was no way Nasrallah could survive

Ironically, Levine also added that it was his birthday and that taking out Nasrallah was an unusually good birthday present.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday called Israel's killing of Nasrallah "a measure of justice" for his many victims, and said the United States fully supported Israel's right to defend itself against Iran-supported groups.

Biden said he had directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to further enhance the defense posture of US military forces in the Middle East to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader war.

Ultimately, he said, the US aimed to de-escalate ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means. He did not address a comment from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying Nasrallah's death would be avenged.

'An historical turning point'

On Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the killing of Nasrallah was an historical turning point that could change the balance of power in the Middle East, though he warned of "challenging days" ahead.

"Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Nasrallah's killing was a necessary step toward achieving the goals we have set, returning residents of the North safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years to come," he said.

Soon after arriving in Israel from New York, Netanyahu said Israel has "settled the account" with a "mass murderer" responsible for the killings of countless Israelis and dozens of American and French citizens.

He added that, early last week, he recognized that even the heavy strikes Israel had inflicted on Hezbollah would not be sufficient, and that "eliminating Nasrallah was an essential condition for achieving the aims that we have set out — returning the residents of the North safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years."

"So I gave the order and Nasrallah is no longer with us."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was holding talks late on Saturday on possibly expanding Israel's military offensive on its northern front, his office said in a statement.

Israel's next steps

Despite the stunning attack by the air force and expectations that Hezbollah might finally fire its full arsenal of likely still over 100,000 rockets on Israel (out of more than 150,000 prewar), the terror organization had only fired 90 rockets on the Jewish state following Nasrallah's death as of press time.

Accordingly, little had changed regarding Israeli home front restrictions.

There remain heavy restrictions on Haifa and areas northward, which have been in place since last weekend, but central Israel was only given a restriction from having outdoor gatherings of more than 1,000 – meaning schools and workplaces continue to operate normally.

In the broader sense, the IDF said that it believed the death of Nasrallah could: 1) potentially bring Hezbollah to a ceasefire that would make the northern border sufficiently secure for Israel's 60,000 residents who have been evacuated from there; 2) bring Hamas back to the negotiating table to exchange Israeli hostages; and 3) deter Iran from some of its broader adventurism against Israel.

At the same time that the IDF killed Nasrallah, it kept up heavy attacks on Hezbollah's rocket network and assets throughout Saturday, including killing a top Hezbollah intelligence official.

Further, the IDF has continually bombed the Syrian-Lebanese border to prevent new arms from arriving to Hezbollah from Iran by land and intercepted an Iranian aircraft that was on its way to Lebanon likely to bring arms, forcing the aircraft to turn back while in Iraqi airspace.

"This is not the end of our toolbox," IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a statement following the announcement of Nasrallah's death.

"Those who threaten the citizens of the State of Israel – we will know how to reach them – in the North, in the South, and even in more distant places," Halevi said.

"After a long period of preparing many capabilities for Lebanon, we have begun implementing them. This strike had also been prepared for a long time and executed at the right time, precisely," he said.

"We are now moving forward with sharp preparation for the next steps. Ultimately, I emphasize again that we are maintaining maximum readiness across all of our sectors. All forces, including coordination with other organizations, must be well coordinated and highly prepared," the chief of staff concluded.

Hezbollah confirms leader's death

Lebanon's Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had been killed.

The group said in a statement that it would continue its battle against Israel "in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people."

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV started airing Quran verses after the announcement of Nasrallah's death.

The underground command center was embedded beneath a residential building, the IDF noted in its report on Saturday, where Nasrallah and his top commanders were coordinating terrorist activities against Israel at the time of the attack.

During Nasrallah's 32-year leadership of Hezbollah, he was responsible for directing nearly all of the group's major terror operations and strategy, including attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as international attacks that killed other nationals worldwide.

Under his command, Hezbollah joined Hamas in attacking Israel with rockets on October 8, 2023, further escalating violence in the region.

Nasrallah had ordered thousands upon thousands of attacks on Israel in recent year with rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones.

His daughter Zainab was reportedly killed in the same Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.

Nasrallah began his political journey in 1976 at the age of 16 when he traveled to Iraq and joined the Shia movement, the Dawa Party. In 1982, he co-founded Hezbollah with Iranian support after leaving the Amal Movement, quickly securing a senior position and overseeing the Bekaa area by age 22.

By 1985, he was deputy chairman of the Beirut Council and became the military leader in the city. In 1987, he was appointed head of the Operational Executive Council and became a member of Hezbollah's Supreme Council.

Following the IDF's assassination of Abbas al-Musawi, Nasrallah assumed leadership of Hezbollah in 1992.

Ali Karaki had commanded Hezbollah's Southern Front since 2007, overseeing the group's military activities in southern Lebanon. He was responsible for building extensive weapon stockpiles and deploying thousands of operatives along the Israeli border. He was due to replace Fuad Shukr, whom Israel killed on July 30, as Hezbollah's military chief, second only to Nasrallah.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War, Karaki had directed rocket launches, anti-tank missile attacks, and UAV strikes, resulting in significant damage among Israeli civilians and soldiers, and causing extensive damage in northern Israel. His strategy involved embedding Hezbollah within civilian areas, utilizing homes and the local population as human shields in their assaults on Israel. A founding member of Hezbollah's military operations in the 1980s, he had a history of orchestrating numerous terror attacks against Israelis.

At press time, Hezbollah had not yet selected a replacement for Nasrallah, but reports were rampant predicting Hashem Safieddine as his heir.

As head of the executive council, Safieddine oversees Hezbollah's political affairs. He also sits on the Jihad Council, which manages the group's military operations.

Safieddine is a cousin of Nasrallah and, like him, a cleric who wears a black turban denoting descent from Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The US State Department designated him a terrorist in 2017, and in June, he threatened a big escalation against Israel after the killing of another Hezbollah commander. "Let [the enemy] prepare himself to cry and wail," he said at the funeral.

Safieddine's public statements often reflect Hezbollah's militant stance and its alignment with the Palestinian cause. At a recent event in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he declared, "Our history, our guns, and our rockets are with you," in a show of solidarity with Palestinian fighters.

Nasrallah "started tailoring positions for him within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah. Some of them were more opaque than others. They've had him come, go out, and speak," said Phillip Smyth, an expert who studies Iran-backed Shi'ite militias.

Safieddine's family ties, physical resemblance to Nasrallah, and religious status as a descendant of Muhammad would all count in his favor.

He has also been vocal in his criticism of US policy. In response to American pressure on Hezbollah, he stated in 2017 that "This mentally impeded, crazy US administration headed by [then-president Donald] Trump will not be able to harm the resistance," asserting that such actions would only strengthen Hezbollah's resolve.

In the same attack that killed Nasrallah, Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

Nilforoushan was a key player in Iranian actions in the region, advising Hezbollah on military and diplomatic affairs, according to Khabar Online.

He is believed to have played a major role in crushing protests against the Iranian regime and fought with the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War.

Nilforoushan had previously hinted at attacks on Israel, according to Iran International.

The IRGC official told Etemad Online in February that Tehran was keeping track of the "enemies'" activities and would "settle scores" on a regular basis with them.

Top Israeli defense sources refused to tell The Jerusalem Post whether they knew he was present and whether his presence there was a factor for or against killing Nasrallah specifically on Friday.

At press time, Iran was alternately threatening retaliation, invoking a five-day mourning period, and continuing to refrain from directly attacking Israel despite nearly two weeks of the IDF pummeling Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic losing one of its greatest allies.

Go to the full >>

Brig.-Gen. Amichai Levine, the newly appointed commander of Hatzerim Airbase, revealed on Saturday that the mission to neutralize Hassan Nasrallah demanded unique, world-class capabilities from the Israel Air Force. The operation required extreme precision to strike a deep underground area while maintaining perfect deception, ensuring that Nasrallah, Ali Karaki , and other senior figures would not detect the attack and escape.

"The operation succeeded perfectly," Levine said, praising the ground crews and technical teams for their seamless execution. Not only did they ensure the aircraft's readiness, but they also managed the munitions, which performed flawlessly despite the complex mission conditions. "About a hundred munitions were used, with bombers dropping them every two seconds in perfect precision."

He also commended the 69th Squadron, known as the "Hammers," which operates F-15I Ra'am fighter jets and has been involved in notable operations in Lebanon and Syria. The squadron faced scrutiny before the war due to protests against the judicial overhaul, but for 11 months, the squadron's pilots, both reservists and regulars, have been on continuous alert for missions across the Middle East, ready for future challenges.

When asked about the squadron's involvement amid the protests over the judicial overhaul before October 7, Levine responded: "The 69th Squadron is a strategic squadron in the air force and has been for decades. It's responsible for some of the air force's most critical missions. The squadron's fighters are diverse in age (up to 50) and profession.

"Half of them are reservists, and roughly half of the fighters who participated in this operation were reservists. No one in Israel should doubt their love for the country, their willingness to sacrifice their lives, and even put their lives on the line for both nearby and distant missions – I think this operation underscores that. For 11 months, they've been on alert, flying around the clock, and they'll continue as long as the war goes on."

The IDF's three goals

"We have three goals: returning the hostages, dismantling Hamas, and ensuring the safe return of northern residents to their homes. The base, squadron and the entire air force are operating powerfully despite the media focus," Levine stated.

"The separation of the northern and southern fronts is critical to dismantling Hamas and creating the conditions necessary to bring back the hostages ," the brigadier-general said. Yesterday, we executed a historic operation of immense strategic importance. Nasrallah is seen as the most central figure in the Shi'ite axis. This will significantly impact the Middle East and move us closer to achieving our war goals. The operation was long planned and reflects extraordinary collaboration with the Military Intelligence Directorate and the air force. I know all the intelligence officers who contribute incredible capabilities," he said.

"What was missing before October 7 was initiative and aggressiveness. We still have unfinished business: We need to root out Hamas, and we haven't brought the hostages home. There are still issues that require our attention," Levine said.

He further acknowledged Brig.-Gen. Guy Davidson, the outgoing commander of Hatzerim Airbase: "Davidson deserves a lot of credit. Two weeks ago, I received a base that is a well-oiled war machine. But there are many people who deserve recognition for their recent performances: the air force orchestra has been playing in full glory in recent days and weeks. Davidson is certainly one of these key and valued individuals," he said, adding that "Davidson was my flight instructor many years ago, and I owe him personal credit."

"The challenge in elimination operations is precise intelligence," Levine explained. "All agencies need to provide intelligence for every operation. The second challenge is ensuring that the target – Nasrallah, Karaki, and others – does not escape while the planes are en route or the munitions are on their way to the target.

"Each time, this is done creatively and through various methods, relying on ideas from young officers who are given the freedom to think and senior ranks who listen to them. They bring innovative solutions to deceive our enemies, ensuring the target remains stable during execution. Surface-to-air missiles in Lebanon still pose a threat, but we've also targeted them. We've hit dozens of infrastructure elements of various kinds, including weapons. Hezbollah's capabilities have been reduced, and it remains a primary focus for the air force."

Lt. Col. M., commander of the 69th Squadron, shared: "A wide range of crews flew the elimination mission in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, from ages 23 to 50. This shows how the squadron operates – regular and reserve forces together. The mission was flawless, both in planning, execution, and outcome. Everything went smoothly. We launched a massive strike in the heart of Beirut. There was a sense of pride on a personal level: for the navigator, the crews, the officer whose cousin was killed, and the family."

Go to the full >>