Israel uncertain of Hezbollah's intentions, prepares for all options

Analysis

Ben Caspit

Jan 5, 2024

TOPSHOT - An Israeli soldier wearing a patch on the back of his flack jacket showing Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a target, stands in front of a self-propelled artillery howitzer in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, as an artillery unit shells southern Lebanon on January 4, 2024. Nasrallah warned Israel against all-out conflict, after Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi, in a visit to the Lebanese border, said troops were "in very high readiness". (Photo by jalaa marey / AFP) (Photo by JALAA M — TOPSHOT - An Israeli soldier wearing a patch on the back of his flack jacket showing Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a target, stands in front of a self-propelled artillery howitzer in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, as an artillery unit shells southern Lebanon on January 4, 2024. — JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

TEL AVIV — The day after the Jan. 2 assassination of senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut widely attributed to Israel, vaunted former Mossad Director Zvi Zamir died at the age of 98 and was buried in Tel Aviv. In delivering his eulogy at the graveside, incumbent Mossad Director David Barnea paraphrased a biblical warning: "Every Arab mother should know: If her son took part in the massacre on Oct. 7, his blood shall be upon his own head."

The citation was particularly relevant given Zamir’s role in orchestrating the operation known both as Wrath of God and as Bayonet that Prime Minister Golda Meir ordered after Palestinian attackers murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

"The murder in Munich was a formative event," Barnea said. "The Mossad decided to take off its gloves and go on the offensive. With the backing of Prime Minister Meir, … murderer after murderer was eliminated by Mossad fighters. There was no place where the Mossad's arm did not reach."

In a reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, Barnea added, "This war on terror also had heavy costs. ... But these are the costs of a secret war, and the Mossad, under Zamir's leadership, conducted it with strength and determination in the alleys of Arab countries and in the streets of Europe."