Israel Claims Potential Hezbollah Successor Killed in Strike, Asserting Group’s Leadership Decimated
Israel has claimed the death of Hashem Safieddine, widely considered a potential successor to assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, in a recent airstrike on the militant group’s headquarters in Beirut, Bloomberg reports.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking on Tuesday, asserted that Safieddine “has apparently been eliminated,” though Hezbollah or the Israeli military have not formally confirmed the death. Multiple Lebanese media outlets reported Safieddine’s presence at the Beirut headquarters when it was targeted last week as part of Israel’s ongoing campaign against the Iran-backed group.
Gallant’s statement suggests a significant blow to Hezbollah’s leadership, with the Defense Minister claiming the group is effectively leaderless.
“There is no one to make decisions,” he said. “When the smoke and fog clear, they will understand in Iran that they have lost their most valued asset — which is Hezbollah.”
Despite the potential loss of key leadership figures, Hezbollah’s deputy chief, Naim Qasem, stated on Tuesday that the group remains committed to attacking Israeli territory and engaging in combat with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s long-standing leader since the early 1990s, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on September 27. Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah and head of Hezbollah’s executive council since 1992, was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States in 2017.
