Israel decided to assassinate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah because he refused to separate diplomatic talks on the Hezbollah-Israel front from the war in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday.
The Israeli official said the decision to assassinate Hezbollah’s leader was made because Nasrallah declined diplomatic efforts in the last 11 months to separate the “northern front” — Lebanon — from the war in Gaza.
The official also said Hezbollah attacks in the last weeks and months had expanded in range and velocity, which “led us to understand that he cannot be part of the game and decision maker in the region anymore.”
The official said it is up to Nasrallah’s successor to agree to a diplomatic solution that allows Israel to achieve the goals it has publicly set — the safe return of over 60,000 Israelis to their homes in the north. However, the official added, Israel has “many other tools to make sure that if they do not agree, we have other ways to achieve” that goal.