Israel stated Tuesday that it had killed the Hezbollah official poised to grow to be the militant group’s subsequent chief in an airstrike outdoors Beirut earlier this month.
Hashem Safieddine was anticipated to succeed his cousin Hassan Nasrallah, one of many founding members of the Iran-backed Lebanese group, who was killed final month in a large-scale Israeli assault on a southern suburb of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
Hezbollah has thus far not confirmed Safieddine’s demise.
In an announcement Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces stated Safieddine was killed about three weeks in the past in an airstrike that hit Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut. At the time of the strike, greater than 25 Hezbollah members have been contained in the underground headquarters, it stated.
The commander of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, Ali Hussein Hazima, who the IDF stated was chargeable for directing quite a few assaults on Israeli troops, was additionally killed within the strike.
“We have reached Nasrallah, his alternative and most of Hezbollah’s senior management,” Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi stated, based on Reuters. “We will attain anybody who threatens the safety of the civilians of the State of Israel.”
Israel’s escalating offensive in Lebanon has killed dozens of Hezbollah members, together with its high leaders, leaving the group in disarray. After the demise of Nasrallah, the group’s chief for over three a long time, Safieddine was seen by many as the following chief of the militant and political group, which has been supporting Palestinian militants preventing Israel within the Gaza Strip.
As head of Hezbollah’s govt council, Safieddine had oversight over the group’s monetary and administrative affairs. He additionally sat on its Jihad Council, overseeing the group’s army operations.
Safieddine had currently been taking a extra distinguished function within the group’s actions, addressing funerals and occasions as he crammed in for Nasrallah on account of safety issues.
The United States designated Safieddine a terrorist in 2017. He was believed to be round 60 years outdated, based on a State Department profile.
Israeli strikes continued in southern Beirut on Tuesday, together with one which leveled a residential constructing that Israeli officers stated contained Hezbollah amenities.
Israel’s affirmation of Safieddine’s demise on Tuesday additionally got here as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel, the place he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He additionally met with the households of hostages nonetheless being held in Gaza.
Hopes for his or her launch have been raised final week when Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief who masterminded the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist assault on Israel that started the Israel-Hamas conflict, was killed in an Israeli strike on his dwelling in Gaza.
Blinken stated Sinwar’s demise “does create an essential alternative to carry the hostages dwelling, to carry the conflict to an finish and to make sure Israel’s safety.”
The State Department stated Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad dedication” to Israel’s safety, and that he and Israeli officers mentioned efforts to discourage additional aggression from Iran after its unprecedented ballistic missile assault on Israel final month.
They additionally mentioned the significance of securing the discharge of all hostages, ending the preventing in Gaza and Lebanon and growing the stream of humanitarian support to Gaza, the place there are warnings of “catastrophic” ranges of starvation.
The U.S. delegation’s departure on Wednesday was briefly disrupted by the sounding of air sirens in Tel Aviv, reportedly on account of rocket fireplace from Hezbollah that was intercepted by Israel.