How Israel wiped out Hezbollah chiefs one-by-one to create leadership vacuum

Israel’s recent air strike in Beirut which resulted in the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has raised tensions across the Middle East and also brought global attention to the country’s strikes against the terror group. For the last few months, Israel has focused on a ‘ground-up’ approach to dismantle Hezbollah leadership, preventing them from regrouping and re-establishing command.
Israel’s strategy has focused on a “ground-up” approach to dismantling Hezbollah’s hierarchy, preventing the group from regrouping and re-establishing its command. The deaths of regional commanders such as Taleb Abdullah and Muhammad Nasser in earlier airstrikes indicate a calculated effort to undermine Hezbollah’s operational capabilities.
The airstrike was part of a broader campaign that has systematically targeted Hezbollah’s command structure over the past 11 months, according to a report in The Sun. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claim to have eliminated nearly all of the group’s senior officials, making the prospect of a stable succession increasingly precarious. Among those killed in the recent assault were Ali Karki, commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and Muhammad Ali Ismail, head of its missile unit, along with numerous other senior officials.
The Beirut bombing also resulted in the deaths of Ibrahim Aqil, a key figure on the US most-wanted list for decades, and Ahmed Wahabi, commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. Aqil was particularly significant, having a $7 million bounty on his head and serving as the group’s second-in-command. His loss, coupled with Wahabi’s, leaves Hezbollah reeling as it grapples with a leadership vacuum. Israel carried out the airstrike at a strategic time when several Hezbollah leaders had gathered for a meeting in a bunker under a busy Beirut neighbourhood.
 
Less than a day after they targetted Hassan Nasrallah, the IDF killed another senior terrorist from Hezbollah intelligence array who they claim was responsible for the identification of civilian and military targets.
“With the direction of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the IAF eliminated Hassan Khalil Yassin, a senior terrorist in Hezbollah’s intelligence array, in a strike in the Dahieh area of Beirut. Yassin stood at the head of a department responsible for the identification of civilian and military targets, on the northern border and deep within Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement.
“As part of his role, Yassin collaborated intensely with all of Hezbollah’s offensive units, was personally involved in the planning of terror attacks that were executed during the war against Israeli civilians and soldiers, and planned additional attacks to be carried out in the coming days,” the Israeli military added.
Hezbollah’s internal structure has been increasingly vulnerable, especially after the assassination of Fuad Shukr in July—considered Nasrallah’s right-hand man and a veteran military strategist within the organization. Shukr was previously sanctioned by the US for his involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut.
Israel claims its escalation is necessary because diplomatic efforts by Western powers have failed to stop Hezbollah’s strikes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered the strike on Nasrallah after a defiant speech to the United Nations on Friday, said it was part of a strategy to allow Israelis to return to areas near the Lebanese border and to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages.
The US, France, and Arab countries have been trying to de-escalate the situation in recent days and prevent an Israeli ground offensive on southern Lebanon, which they fear could trigger a region-wide war.