Nasrallah Was Shaken by Pager Attack Before His Killing, Close Associate Says

A close associate of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says the Israeli-attributed pager attack badly unsettled him in the days before Israel killed him. Wafik Safa, described as one of Nasrallah’s most prominent confidants, said his last conversation with Nasrallah came on the day of the pager attack, just 10 days before the killing.

Safa said the attack marked a turning point and that once Nasrallah saw images of pagers exploding on people, he could not bear it. “It was no longer the same Hassan Nasrallah,” he said, adding that the shock was not medical but clearly changed him. According to Safa, Nasrallah stopped eating, drank only water at first, and in his view did not eat for about 24 hours. “For him, it was the end of the world,” Safa said.

Safa also said the operation was a significant Israeli intelligence achievement. “We have to be realistic. This was an intelligence penetration, and it is credited to Israel. We admit that,” he said. He added that the scale of the injuries and the damage to Hezbollah’s systems were especially hard for Nasrallah.

Describing their final phone call, Safa said Nasrallah called to comfort him rather than ask what was happening because he already knew. Safa told him, “The important thing is that you hold on,” and Nasrallah replied, “God comforts me.” Safa said that from that moment, “Nasrallah was no longer the same,” and that although he still believed Israel would not reach him, he also understood Hezbollah had to prepare for becoming a target. He said Israel ultimately did reach Nasrallah and also damaged the group’s missile capability.