BEIRUT (Azat TV) – The 2024 Israeli military operation that killed long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah cost an estimated $34 million, according to a recent report by Israeli business newspaper The Marker. This significant expenditure highlights the scale of the strike that eliminated one of the region’s most prominent militant figures, occurring amidst a wide-scale Israeli aerial and ground offensive in Lebanon following months of cross-border hostilities linked to the Gaza war, and now prompting renewed international focus on disarming Hezbollah.
The Strike and Its Financial Toll
Hassan Nasrallah, who had led the Shia militant group for over three decades, was killed on September 27, 2024, in Hezbollah’s underground headquarters located in the Haret Hreik suburb south of Beirut. The massive strike, which leveled several buildings in the residential quarter, also killed several other Hezbollah and Iranian officials present at the base. Hezbollah officially announced Nasrallah’s killing the following day.
The Marker, a business daily owned by Haaretz, reported the mission’s cost at approximately 125 million shekels, equivalent to about $34 million. A substantial portion, roughly 25 million shekels (around $6.8 million), was spent on the munitions themselves. The remaining costs covered flight hours, fuel, and additional munitions dropped to impede rescuers from accessing the attack site. F-15 jets reportedly deployed 83 tonnes of munitions, with the force of the explosions felt across Greater Beirut and massive plumes of smoke filling the sky.
Further expenses were incurred on the day of the assassination, as Israeli interceptors were used to counter a retaliatory Hezbollah missile attack, adding several tens of millions of shekels to the total cost, according to The Marker. Days later, in another major airstrike, Israel also assassinated Nasrallah’s cousin, Hashem Safieddine, who was widely seen as his likely successor.
Weakened Hezbollah, Shifting Dynamics
Nasrallah’s assassination was widely regarded as a seismic event in the region, representing one of the heaviest blows delivered to the Iran-led alliance of militant groups. His charismatic and commanding presence, often displayed in lengthy televised addresses, had garnered him a vast following. The Israeli campaign has significantly degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities, with much of its senior leadership eliminated and thousands of its fighters killed or injured.
The offensive in Lebanon, which included a ground invasion where Israeli forces still occupy five strategic hilltops, concluded with a November 2024 ceasefire. However, Israel continues to conduct near-daily strikes on Lebanon, asserting its commitment to keeping Hezbollah weakened and threatening another full-scale offensive if the group is not completely disarmed. Between October 2023 and November 2024, Hezbollah reportedly fired nearly 18,000 projectiles at Israel, highlighting the intensity of the conflict preceding the ceasefire.
International Efforts for Disarmament
Despite the November 2024 ceasefire, the Lebanese military has shown limited progress in disarming Hezbollah. The United States provided $230 million in military aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in October, but with persistent failures to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701 – which mandates Hezbollah’s disarmament and withdrawal from southern Lebanon – the United States is now considering conditioning future military aid.
Lebanon’s parliament had voted in favor of a plan for the LAF to disarm Hezbollah and confiscate its weapons from south of the Litani River up to the Beqaa Valley. However, the LAF has largely relied on Israeli counterterror operations, such as a recent strike against Hezbollah commander Ali Tabatabai, to degrade the group’s capabilities, despite receiving advanced US funding for its own operations.
The United States is advocating for a broader, comprehensive verification strategy to ensure Hezbollah’s disarmament and prevent its resurgence. This approach involves U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) collaborating with Lebanon’s government, military, and UNIFIL to plan the disarmament process. Strict guidelines for reporting arms seizures, confiscating weapons-making materials, and dismantling underground terrorist infrastructure are proposed, with US forces also encouraging Lebanon to enhance its intelligence capabilities. CENTCOM intends to verify LAF and UNIFIL reports against US, Israeli, and partner intelligence, with non-compliance potentially leading to reconsideration of military aid.
Economic Incentives and Regional Security
Beyond military action, the United States, alongside European and Gulf allies, plans to fund employment opportunities for Lebanese citizens who cooperate with authorities against Hezbollah’s weapons proliferation. This initiative aims to stimulate economic growth and diminish Hezbollah’s support base, especially given that approximately 44 percent of Lebanon’s population lives in poverty.
Lebanon’s government has demanded Israel cease military operations and withdraw from its remaining posts in the country. However, US and Israeli officials express concern that a premature halt to Israeli operations could create a security vacuum, allowing Hezbollah to reorganize, particularly amid reports of Iran rearming the group. The US therefore demands the LAF and UNIFIL demonstrate their capability to address terrorism adequately before Israeli forces withdraw, and that Israeli forces maintain the freedom to target terrorists should the LAF and UNIFIL abandon the disarmament process or fail to address future cross-border smuggling attempts from Syria.
The substantial financial and military investment in dismantling Hezbollah’s leadership, as revealed by the cost of Nasrallah’s assassination, underscores the strategic importance placed on weakening the group, simultaneously highlighting the persistent challenges and the complex interplay of international and regional actors in stabilizing Lebanon and enforcing its sovereignty against non-state armed groups.