Nasrallah did not spend his days in underground bunkers, IAF 'Nahalat Binyamin' colonel reveals

Contrary to popular belief, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah did not spend his final years hidden in underground bunkers, an Israeli Air Force colonel revealed in a rare interview. Col. (res.) S., head of the IDF's "Nahalat Binyamin" unit responsible for planning strike operations, stated that Nasrallah was tracked extensively and that the notion of him constantly hiding underground was a misconception.

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In the Nasrallah operation, we dropped 83 bombs. By the way, we dropped the same number on his successor, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, two weeks later.

Col. S. explained that Nasrallah's movements were known, including his apartments and emergency locations. He detailed that at times, Nasrallah lived in a penthouse apartment, utilizing a specially installed elevator for discreet movement. While the Hezbollah leader may have been ideologically committed to hiding, his practical movements were not confined to bunkers, the colonel said.

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We tracked Nasrallah for a very long time. We knew his apartments, his wife's home, his emergency locations, and the places where he hid. But the truth is that most of the time, he was not hiding in a bunker.

Regarding the operation that led to Nasrallah's death, Col. S. noted that the Hezbollah leader had access to more secure locations but chose a specific bunker beneath a multi-story residential building. The IDF unit had prepared strike plans for every potential location, ensuring they could neutralize him regardless of his hiding place. The strike itself was swift, employing missiles designed to trap occupants, with the IDF planning to prevent any rescue attempts for 12 hours to ensure Nasrallah's demise.

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He may have lived in a bunker ideologically, but in practice, he was not underground all the time. Operationally, it didn't really matter to us. Any bunker he entered, we could have killed him. We had relevant strike plans for every structure and every bunker.