The Death of Hasan Nasrallah Exposes Hezbollah’s Vulnerabilities and Hamas’s Superior Resilience
By Abdullah Khan
The recent death of Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s long-standing Secretary General, in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, 2024, has once again brought to light the stark contrast between Hezbollah and Hamas. Both groups have played pivotal roles in the broader resistance against Israel, but while Hezbollah has been heavily resourced and supported by Iran, its vulnerabilities have been exposed by Israel’s successful infiltration and tactical precision. Nasrallah’s death underscores Hezbollah’s operational weaknesses, while Hamas has demonstrated a far more effective strategy for safeguarding its leadership and maintaining its operational effectiveness.
Nasrallah’s assassination was not an isolated event but rather the culmination of a series of setbacks for Hezbollah in recent months. Israeli intelligence penetrated deep into Hezbollah’s ranks, leading to the elimination of several key figures, including Fuad Shukr, Ibrahim Aqil, and Mohammed Srur. A critical development in this context was Israel’s use of booby-trapped pagers—an unprecedented tactic. Israeli intelligence managed to smuggle these devices into Hezbollah’s command structure, resulting in the deaths of 37 commanders and operatives. The attacks injured over 3,000 others, inflicting severe damage on Hezbollah’s operational capabilities. This booby-trapped pager attack represents a new level of Israeli ingenuity and a significant security breach for Hezbollah.
The devastating impact of these pager attacks was facilitated by insiders with access to Hezbollah’s leadership, who were secretly working for Israel. These insiders provided Israel with critical intelligence, allowing it to strike Hezbollah leadership with remarkable accuracy. An Iranian official is believed to have passed on information regarding Nasrallah’s whereabouts, leading to the airstrike that killed him during a high-level meeting of Hezbollah commanders. The breach underscores a broader issue: Hezbollah’s security vulnerabilities are not just internal but are also linked to Iran, which has faced its own infiltration issues.
Israel’s success in penetrating both Hezbollah and Iran’s security networks became glaringly evident on July 31, 2024, when Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, was assassinated in Tehran. Haniyeh had travelled to Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president but became the target of an Israeli operation, once again exposing Iran’s weakened security apparatus. Israel’s ability to strike a Hamas leader in Iran, despite its significant intelligence apparatus and security measures, was a major embarrassment for Tehran.
In sharp contrast, Hamas has proven far more resilient. Despite facing intense Israeli pressure and military strikes, Hamas leaders have largely avoided similar fates. Even as Israel has pounded Gaza into rubble since the war began on October 7, 2023, Hamas’s leadership has remained intact. Israeli efforts to infiltrate Hamas’s inner circles and neutralize its leaders have largely failed. Hamas’s success in maintaining operational secrecy, especially in the face of Israel’s advanced intelligence capabilities, is remarkable. The group’s ability to launch a surprise attack on Israel on 7th of October 2023 remains one of the most striking examples of its operational security.
Unlike Hezbollah, Hamas has also managed to protect its infrastructure. Despite Israel’s relentless bombing campaign, Hamas’s network of secret tunnels remains largely operational, with only a few discovered and destroyed. The group still holds over 200 Israeli hostages—leverage that Israel has been unable to overcome, despite its efforts to destroy Hamas’s capacity to fight. This stark contrast between Hezbollah and Hamas highlights the difference in their strategic approaches and their ability to withstand Israeli attacks.
Hamas’s resilience, by comparison, is a testament to its superior counterintelligence and internal discipline. Operating under far harsher conditions in Gaza, Hamas has managed to maintain the secrecy and integrity of its operations while continuing to resist Israel’s onslaught. This is not to suggest that Hamas is without challenges—its territory has been devastated, and the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. Yet, operationally, Hamas has been far more successful than Hezbollah in protecting its leadership and maintaining its resistance capabilities.
The recent security breaches within Hezbollah and Iran, culminating in the assassinations of both Hasan Nasrallah and Ismail Haniyeh, signal a significant weakening of Iranian influence in the region. Iran has long positioned itself as the primary backer of anti-Israel resistance movements, with Hezbollah and Hamas being central pillars of its strategy. However, the inability to protect key figures like Nasrallah and Haniyeh from Israeli attacks casts serious doubts on Tehran’s ability to safeguard its allies and project power effectively. These high-profile failures not only erode Iran’s credibility as a security guarantor but also open the door for rival regional powers to assert greater influence over groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, potentially fracturing Iran’s control over the broader resistance movement. As Iran grapples with these operational weaknesses, its stature as a dominant force in Middle Eastern geopolitics is likely to diminish, allowing other actors to fill the vacuum and reshape the balance of power in the region.
The lesson here is clear: while Hezbollah may have boasted of its resources and Iranian backing, it has been outmaneuvered by Israeli intelligence and tactics. Nasrallah’s death, the pager bombings, and the broader infiltration of Hezbollah reveal a group struggling to secure itself. Meanwhile, Hamas, with fewer resources but better operational discipline, has managed to outlast and outmaneuver Israel in ways that Hezbollah has failed to do. This difference underscores the need for greater vigilance and security within Hezbollah and its Iranian backers, whose vulnerabilities are now on full display.###
The writer works as Managing Director Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies. He tweets at @AbdullahKhan333
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