Senior defense officials deny claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to New York was a tactic to divert Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut while the premier was addressing the UN General Assembly, according to a Ynet news report.
The report quotes the unnamed senior officials as saying that Netanyahu was under unspecified pressure to postpone the assassination until he returned to Israel, but was convinced by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other top defense officials to take the rare opportunity yesterday.
However, Ynet also quotes sources close to Netanyahu as saying that the premier himself had pushed for the strike, despite reported pushback from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a security cabinet meeting on Thursday.
It corroborates previous reports that said discussions were ongoing when the prime minister took off for New York and continued during the flight, followed by a cabinet discussion over the phone early yesterday morning during which it was decided to move forward with the operation.
The premier gave the final approval for the strike from the hotel before leaving to address the UN, the report says.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
