A senior Hezbollah official and close associate of Hassan Nasrallah says Israel’s pager operation deeply shook the former Hezbollah chief in the days before Israel assassinated him.

Wafiq Safa said the attack marked a turning point for Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for decades. “It was no longer the same Hassan Nasrallah,” Safa said, adding that people around him made a mistake by showing him images of the pagers exploding on Hezbollah operatives.

Safa said Nasrallah was especially affected after seeing the scope of the injuries and the scale of the intelligence breach. “He became a different person. This was not a medical event, but he was certainly not the same person we knew, even in his appearance,” he said. “He stopped eating, and at first only drank water. In my opinion, he did not eat for about 24 hours. For him, it was the end of the world.”

Safa also admitted that the operation was a major Israeli intelligence success. “We have to be realistic. This was an intelligence penetration, and it is credited to Israel. We admit that,” he said.

He described his final phone call with Nasrallah on the day of the pager operation, saying Nasrallah called to reassure him and ask how he was doing. Safa said he told Nasrallah, “The main thing is that you hold strong.” Nasrallah replied, “God comforts me.”

According to Safa, Nasrallah could not bear both the images from the pager attack and the blow to Hezbollah’s military power, which the terror group had built for years. In their final meeting, Safa said, Nasrallah still believed Israel would not reach him and assumed Israel would avoid a wider war because of Hezbollah’s capabilities. In the end, Israel did reach him — and also damaged Hezbollah’s missile power.