Hezbollah leader admits terror group underestimated Israeli intelligence power

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem admitted in an interview released on Tuesday that the Iranian backed terrorist militia had dramatically underestimated Israel’s military and intelligence capabilities prior to the pager blast operation last September, which wounded thousands and killed dozens of Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria. 

“We didn’t know the supply chain had been exposed,” Qassem said in an interview with the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen news outlet. 

“There were efforts to examine the pager differently, including attempts to break it open, prompted by some anomalies that raised questions,” he continued, indirectly hinting that the jihadist group’s growing suspicions could have triggered Israel to activate the pagers earlier than initially planned. 

Hezbollah launched an unprovoked attack on northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas invasion and massacre of 1,200 Israelis in southern Israel. After a year of largely static warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, the pager attack marked the beginning of Israel’s extensive military offensive against Hezbollah that would within a few months severely cripple the terror militia’s leadership and military capabilities. 

Looking back, Qassem also admitted that Hezbollah at the time “did not realize the extent – that it was near-total and very extensive,” referring to the Israel's intelligence and surveillance capabilities. 

Qassem became Hezbollah’s leader after Israel eliminated his predecessors Hassan Nasrallah and Hashim Safieddine in September and October 2024. 

The current Hezbollah leader assessed that Israeli intelligence has likely been collecting detailed data on the terror group for the past 17 years, since the Second Lebanon War in 2006. He admitted that Hezbollah “couldn’t grasp how deep” the Israeli surveillance efforts had been. 

However, Qassem denied that the Hezbollah organization had been seriously infiltrated by “vast human infiltration,” referring to Israeli spies. 

However, the Israeli military succeeded in eliminating most of Hezbollah’s top commanders through highly accurate real-time intelligence data. 

After initially tying the end of its attacks to the conclusion of the war in Gaza, a severely weakened Hezbollah eventually agreed to an internationally brokered ceasefire in November 2024, which still appears to be holding.

Qassem explained why Hezbollah chose daily limited attacks on Israel rather than a full-scale war. 

“The outcome of a full war is predictable. It requires preparedness that simply wasn’t available,” the Hezbollah leader assessed. “We had to enter the battle with limited support and observe developments closely. Based on how things evolved, we could make a clearer choice." 

“Doing more than support would not have changed the outcome,” Qassem continued, likely responding to criticism from Hamas that Hezbollah did not provide sufficient military backing. Failing to mention that it was Hamas and Hezbollah that attacked Israel, the Hezbollah leader claimed that “we came to see that the Israeli aggression was extreme, supported by new rules of engagement and US backing.”

Hezbollah is currently at its weakest point in decades and is facing significant pressure from the new American-backed Lebanese government to disarm. Despite its weakness, the Hezbollah leader threatened Israel that the “resistance will not wait forever. There are limits.” 

Qassem recently vowed that Hezbollah would not surrender under Israeli “threats.” 

"This threat will not make us accept surrender,” he said. Hezbollah, like its patron the Islamic Republic of Iran, has openly called for the end of the Israeli state and frames its actions within the narrative of political and military resistance.

“There is no third option between victory and martyrdom. We do not have surrender as an option,” Qassem concluded, indicating that Hezbollah would fight until the end.