Israel announced on Tuesday that it had killed Hashem Safieddine, a high-ranking Hezbollah official who was expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, in an airstrike outside Beirut three weeks ago.
The Israeli army released a statement confirming the deaths of Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, and Ali Hussein Hazima, the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence directorate, along with other Hezbollah commanders.
In an address to the Lebanese people on October 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously mentioned that the military had “taken out” Safieddine, without explicitly naming him.
Netanyahu said that Israeli forces “took out thousands of terrorists, including (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah’s replacement and the replacement of his replacement.”
The Israeli army further revealed that their air force had carried out a precise, intelligence-based strike on Hezbollah’s main intelligence headquarters in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, three weeks ago. According to the statement, more than 25 Hezbollah militants were present at the headquarters during the strike, including Bilal Saib Aish, who was responsible for aerial intelligence gathering.
Safieddine, a member of Hezbollah’s decision-making body and a distant relative of Nasrallah, had been out of contact since the Israeli strikes on Beirut weeks ago, news agency Reuters reported citing high-level Hezbollah source.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the Israeli army’s chief, stated in a statement late on Tuesday, “We have reached Nasrallah, his replacement and most of Hezbollah’s senior leadership,” following the confirmation of Safieddine’s death.