Western officials: Israeli action ended Hezbollah's presence in Golan

The reported Israeli strike in Syria three months ago, which killed Hezbollah commander Jihad Mughniyeh and an Iranian general before they could orchestrate a cross-border attack on the Golan Heights, has effectively ended an Iranian-backed effort to establish a foothold in the area using Hezbollah as a proxy, Western officials said this week.

According to newly released information, Mughniyeh headed a special unit assigned with attacking Israeli targets on the Golan Heights and planned to use improvised explosive devices, small arms and rockets. Another method of attack would have included a cross-border raid on an Israeli community.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah is believed to have decided on the unit's formation, in coordination with high-ranking Iranian officials. The unit comprised dozens of operatives, among them Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah hoped that by focusing on the Golan Heights it could avoid the risk of a full-fledged conflagration along the Israel-Lebanon border.

The Iranian general was apparently a mentor of sorts for the unit and for its commander. Mugniyeh's father, Imad Mugniyeh, was Hezbollah's military commander until the time of his assassination in Damascus in 2008, allegedly carried out by Israel and the CIA. During the Gaza war last summer, the unit apparently tried to divert attention to a new theater of combat by firing rockets and mortar rounds on Israeli targets, which hit unpopulated areas and did not cause any casualties.

The reported Israeli strike in January took place just as the unit's commanders were convening for a tour of the area, having already completed the necessary operational steps for a terrorist attack. Israel has refused to confirm its involvement in the assassination.

Nevertheless, Hezbollah considered it responsible and retaliated by firing antitank missiles across the Lebanon-Israeli border 10 days later. The retaliation, which claimed the lives of two Israeli soldiers, was carried out near the Lebanese border, having lost its capabilities in the Golan Heights area.