Police: 2023 Hezbollah attack targeted former defense minister Ya’alon

The target of an attempted bombing by Hezbollah in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park a year ago was former Israeli defense minister and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon, the Israel Police revealed on Wednesday.

“On Sept. 15, 2023, an explosive device exploded in Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv with no casualties; the investigation was assigned to the Central Unit of the Tel Aviv District Police and the Israel Security Agency,” the statement said.

A probe, which included an analysis of security cameras “focusing on relevant parties who used to frequent the area of the attack at the relevant time,” led to the conclusion that Ya’alon was targeted, it added.

The terrorist group “had installed a camera on the body of the explosive charge in such a way that it was possible to observe movements on the park’s trails remotely,” but failed to hurt Ya’alon, according to the police.

The news came a day after the ISA revealed that a cell associated with Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah was responsible for placing the explosive, which was planted next to a tree in the bustling park in the north of the coastal metropolis.

Ya’alon, 74, was named chief of staff of the IDF in 2002, retiring three years later after 37 years of military service. He subsequently served as minister of defense on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party in successive governments before running for Knesset together with former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz in 2019.

In related news, the ISA announced on Tuesday that it had thwarted a second attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior security official. According to the ISA, the attack involved an explosive device and was intended to be carried out in the coming days.

The security agency described the explosive device as a “type of Claymore anti-personnel mine known to be used by Hezbollah,” similar to the charge used in the planned attack on Ya’alon in September 2023.

The planned terrorist attack was said to have been prevented “in the final stages of implementation,” the ISA noted, adding that the targeted Israeli official has been updated by security forces and that additional details could not be provided “at this stage.”

Arab media reported on Wednesday that the intended target of the bombing was Aviv Kochavi, who was the IDF chief of staff between 2019 and 2023. Hezbollah operatives surveilled the retired military leader at a “sports facility” he used to frequent in Tel Aviv, according to the reports.

Hezbollah has attacked northern Israel nearly daily since it joined the war against the Jewish state in support of Palestinian Hamas on Oct. 8, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones. The attacks have so far killed more than 40 people and caused widespread damage. Tens of thousands of civilians remain internally displaced due to the violence.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah blamed Jerusalem for the pager explosions that wounded some 3,000 of its operatives and killed 12 in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, warning that Israel will get “its fair punishment.”