Wafiq Safa, a senior Hezbollah figure long considered close to Hassan Nasrallah and now associated with the group’s current leader, Naim Qassem, described his last meeting with Nasrallah in a podcast. According to Safa, Nasrallah believed Israel would not be able to reach him, while Hezbollah’s senior ranks were preparing for the possibility of becoming Israeli targets and taking precautions.
Safa said Nasrallah assumed that because Israel knew what weapons Hezbollah possessed, it would avoid starting a war. Instead, he said, Israel killed Nasrallah and also destroyed missiles that were capable of bringing down buildings. He added that the Iranian missiles seen destroying buildings in Tel Aviv were also in Hezbollah’s arsenal, but that capability was eliminated when Israel killed Nasrallah.
The remarks were reported by Roi Kais on Kan 11. The article also notes that Safa, who headed Hezbollah’s coordination and liaison unit and was described as Nasrallah’s special negotiator, left the group in February 2026, the first time a senior figure of his stature has departed Hezbollah.
Nasrallah was killed on Friday, September 27, 2024, at 6:21 p.m., during Operation New Order. The Israeli Air Force carried out coordinated strikes after months of planning, targeting Hezbollah’s central headquarters in the heart of Beirut and additional military infrastructure. More than 80 bombs, averaging about one ton of explosives each, were dropped on Nasrallah’s bunker. Along with him, Ali Karaki, the group’s southern front commander, was also killed.
