The Israeli military says it has killed the cleric expected to succeed the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallahduring an airstrike nearly three weeks ago.
Hashim Safiedine was killed in an airstrike on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese Shiite Muslim group fighting Israel, has not confirmed Safiedine’s death.
On September 27, its former leader Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut.
After an airstrike near the city’s airport on Oct. 4, Hezbollah officials said they had lost contact with Safiedine, while U.S. media quoted Israeli officials as saying the cleric was the target of the blast.
That night, a huge explosion shook the entire cityleaving behind smoke that was still visible into the morning.
On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces issued a statement It said Safieddin and Hezbollah intelligence headquarters commander Ali Hussein Al Khaqima were killed in an attack on the group’s main intelligence headquarters in Beirut.
It accuses Safiedine of directing “terrorist attacks against the state of Israel” for years and of being involved in Hezbollah’s “central decision-making process.”
Hezbollah is a military, political and social organization that has considerable power in Lebanon. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries.
Safieddin himself Designated as a “global terrorist” by the United States and Saudi Arabia in 2017.
He is Nasrallah’s cousin, studied religion in Iran, and his son is married to the daughter of Iran’s most powerful military commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was involved in the 2020 U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. Killed.
He was reportedly about 60 years old at the time of his death.
In a speech in Beirut this summer, Safiedine described how Hezbollah viewed its leadership succession.
Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying: “In our resistance movement, when any leader is martyred, another takes up the flag and continues with new, certain and resolute determination .
Israel has launched an offensive against Hezbollah after the war in Gaza sparked nearly a year of cross-border hostilities, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of residents along the border displaced by Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 2,464 Lebanese have died and nearly 12,000 injured in the past year.
According to Reuters, Hezbollah attacked Israel with thousands of rockets and drones during the same period, killing at least 59 people in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
