Nasrallah reportedly stopped eating regular meals, slept very little, and held only brief, tense meetings with members of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council.

By Hezy Laing

A senior aide to Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime Secretary‑General of Hezbollah—a U.S., EU, and Gulf‑designated terrorist organization responsible for decades of attacks and human rights abuses—has privately acknowledged that Nasrallah was “devastated” by the success of Israel’s “Beeper Operation.”

The operation, carried out by the IDF and Israeli intelligence services in late May 2026, involved remotely detonating thousands of communication devices used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon.

According to the reports, the lieutenant, identified by Lebanese outlets as Hajj M., told associates that Nasrallah viewed the operation as a severe breach of Hezbollah’s internal security and a humiliating demonstration of Israeli penetration into the group’s encrypted communication networks.

Lebanese outlets including Al‑Akhbar and Al‑Modon reported that Nasrallah’s emotional response to the Beeper Operation went beyond strategic frustration, with aides claiming he became withdrawn and sharply reduced his public schedule.

Nasrallah reportedly stopped eating regular meals, slept very little, and held only brief, tense meetings with members of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council.

One insider said the Hezbollah leader appeared “physically shaken” and repeatedly demanded updates from Unit 900, the group’s internal security branch, on how Israeli intelligence had penetrated their communications network.

The reports also claim Nasrallah temporarily suspended several field commanders and ordered an internal purge of compromised communication channels.

Analysts at the Carnegie Middle East Center noted that such behavior, if accurate, reflects the psychological impact of an operation that struck at the core of Hezbollah’s self‑image as an organization with near‑impenetrable operational security.

The Beeper Operation targeted pagers, walkie‑talkies, and short‑range encrypted devices distributed to field commanders in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

It is estimated that more than 3,000 devices were compromised, with dozens of Hezbollah operatives injured when the devices exploded or overheated.

The comments by Nasrallah’s lieutenant suggest that the Hezbollah leader was shaken not only by the operational damage but by the symbolic blow to the organization’s reputation for tight internal discipline.

Analysts at the Middle East Institute and INSS noted that Hezbollah has long prided itself on secure communications, especially after the 2006 war, when Israel intercepted large portions of its radio traffic.

The Beeper Operation revived internal fears of infiltration, with several Lebanese newspapers reporting that Hezbollah’s internal security unit, Unit 900, launched an investigation into how Israeli intelligence gained access to the devices.