Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has revealed that Israel was responsible for the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s former military commander, in 2008.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 on Saturday evening, Olmert confirmed long-standing suspicions that Israel was behind the killing of Mughniyeh. Until now, Israel had never officially taken responsibility for the assassination.
Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s top military leader at the time, was killed in a car explosion in Syria. Despite reports indicating that Mossad carried out the operation with assistance from the CIA, Israel had never publicly acknowledged the event.
Olmert stated during the interview, “We never talked about the operation before, but today we can confirm that we planned it.”
While Olmert refused to divulge specific details about the operation, he hinted that it contained some “very intriguing” elements.
Imad Mughniyeh: A Dangerous Figure
Olmert described Mughniyeh as the most dangerous man in Hezbollah, responsible for establishing the group’s military forces. His elimination was seen as a critical blow to Hezbollah’s operations.
Olmert served as Israel’s Prime Minister during the height of the conflict with Hezbollah, from 2006 to 2009.
This admission comes just 24 hours after the announcement of the death of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, early Saturday morning.
