Lebanon sends back 70 officers and soldiers to Syria
- Hassan Nasrallah was killed during an Israeli airstrike that followed extensive surveillance by Israeli intelligence.
- The campaign against Hezbollah included using advanced technology and air bombardment to neutralize its military capabilities.
- The assassination reflects the ongoing conflict dynamics and shifting power structures in Lebanon and the region.
In September 2024, the Israeli military conducted a targeted airstrike that culminated in the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia. This operation came after years of intelligence gathering by Israeli agencies, which had successfully penetrated Hezbollah's inner workings. Israeli forces tracked Nasrallah's movements as he remained convinced that Israel would not attempt to kill him. Following his assassination, which took place in a fortified bunker, it was reported that both Nasrallah and an Iranian general present with him died of suffocation as the blast buried them under rubble. The death of Nasrallah was the climax of a two-week military campaign that included sophisticated technological and military tactics aimed at crippling Hezbollah's capabilities. Israeli intelligence used covert methods, such as remotely detonating explosives hidden in communication devices used by the militia, alongside an intense aerial bombardment to destroy missile depots. This event not only marked a significant turning point in Israeli-Hezbollah relations, but also highlighted Israel's relentless efforts to dismantle the militia through extensive surveillance and tactical offensives that have defined the long-standing conflict in the region. Moreover, coinciding with this military action, Lebanon also saw a major shift with the return of approximately 70 Syrian military personnel who had fled to the country following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime. These Syrian officers, apprehended during a security crackdown by the new ruling authorities back in Syria, were sent back through Lebanon’s northern border after being caught trying to illegally enter the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported this event, indicating that top officials connected to the former regime had been in Lebanon after Assad's regime was toppled, highlighting the complexities of regional security issues intertwined with ongoing conflict dynamics. The simultaneous developments in Lebanon with the Syrian personnel's return and Nasrallah's assassination underscore the fragile state of politics and security in the region, as different factions vie for power and control in a landscape marked by decades of conflict.