Amit Segal, host of a political program on Israel's most-watched Channel 12, opened a bottle of arak on Saturday, to celebrate the death of Hassan Nasrallah, one of Israel's worst enemies. Nasrallah's greatest victory had been provoking the departure of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon in 2000, after close to two decades of occupation. He also beleaguered the Israeli army during the "33-day war" in 2006, an operation hastily launched following the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers – their bodies were not returned until 2008.

Nasrallah had turned Hezbollah into one of the world's most powerful paramilitary groups, with a reputation as "a militia trained like an army and equipped like a state." The Israelis could no longer tolerate the constant threat posed by the leader of the Party of God.

Yet Segal's initiative elicited only polite, even embarrassed reactions. Nationwide, there was no mass demonstration of joy, unlike at the time of the release of four hostages by the Israeli army in June – at the cost of an operation that claimed the lives of some 270 Palestinians. On Saturday, when the death of the "sayyid" was confirmed, Israelis were going about their business when they weren't gathered for Shabbat.

"The war is not over. There are still 101 hostages in Gaza, and no one knows if they are still alive," argued Gil Murciano, director of the Mitvim Institute, a Tel Aviv-based think tank. On the very day of the announcement, Moody's downgraded Israel's credit rating. And, since October 7, 2023, the whole country has been shrouded in a veil of sadness. No one knows whether these military victories will be turned into political gains. Impressive operations are one thing. Changing reality in concrete terms is quite another." That didn't stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from rejoicing loudly on Saturday evening: "Yesterday, the state of Israel eliminated the arch-murderer Hassan Nasrallah. [...] Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist."

The Israeli press hailed the assassination, dreaming of a more secure future. "For the first time since this war began, we can say with absolute certainty that the Iranian regional axis has been strategically weakened. Israel is beginning to see a solution emerging: the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border and the practical expulsion of Hezbollah as a fighting force from southern Lebanon," wrote journalist Nadav Eyal in the daily Yediot Aharonoth. In the same newspaper, Ronen Bergman expressed a reservation: "For the moment, all Israel's offensive plans, including assassination, have succeeded. But the question remains what Israel plans to do in the future." "Israel has found Nasrallah and must now find a strategy," said a senior security force official.

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