Beirut, Sep 30 (IANS): A man, who originally came from Iran, shook the hand of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and managed to smear a substance on him that allowed Israel to track him, according to a media report quoting sources.

Due to the fact that the body of the Hezbollah leader was exhumed intact, there are increasing estimates that Nasrallah died as a result of suffocation, in great agony, as reported on Sunday evening by Channel 12 News.

It was also reported that as he was in a place without ventilation, the Air Force bombings resulted in gases entering the room, causing him to suffocate to death, Saudi Al Hadath news channel reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed earlier that 20 more terrorists were killed alongside Nasrallah in the attack on Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon.

"In a precise attack by the Israeli Air Force and under the direction of the intelligence wing, fighter jets attacked and killed the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation Hassan Nasrallah, and the commander of the southern front Ali Karaki, one of the senior commanders who remained in the organisation before the attack," it said.

"In a precise airstrike carried out by the Israeli Air Force, directed by the Intelligence Directorate, fighter jets struck and eliminated Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, and Ali Karaki, the Commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, who was one of the remaining senior commanders in the organisation before the strike."

More than 20 other terrorists of varying ranks, who were present at the underground headquarters in Beirut located beneath civilian buildings, and were managing Hezbollah's terrorist operations against the State of Israel, were also eliminated.

Among the terrorists eliminated:

Ibrahim Hussein Jazini -- Head of Nasrallah's Security Unit

Samir Tawfiq Dib -- Nasrallah's long-time confidant and advisor on terrorist activities.

Abed al-Amir Muhammad Sablini -- Head of Hezbollah's Force-Build Up

Ali Naaf Ayoub -- responsible for coordinating Hezbollah's firepower