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New blow to Hezbollah: Israel confirms the death of Hashem Safieddine, the possible successor to Nasrallah

Updated

Safieddine's death was confirmed during Blinken's visit and a week after the elimination of Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

El alto dirigente de Hizbulá, Hashem Safieddine.
El alto dirigente de Hizbulá, Hashem Safieddine.AP

The Israeli army confirmed on Tuesday that it "eliminated" Hashem Safieddine, the likely successor to Hassan Nasrallah as the leader of Hezbollah, during a bombing in southern Beirut at the beginning of October, in a new blow to the Lebanese Islamist movement.

The announcement was made during the visit to Israel by the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who considered the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, assassinated on October 16 by Israeli soldiers, as "creating an important opportunity" to end the war in Gaza.

Hezbollah in Lebanon stated that they had "lost" contact with Safieddine after the Israeli bombings on October 4. The Israeli army said they believed they had eliminated him, but without officially confirming it, reports Afp.

Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Safieddine's death.

With gray beard, glasses, and the black turban of the Sayed - the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad - Hashem Safieddine, around 60 years old, shared a striking physical resemblance with his cousin Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27 in an Israeli bombing near Beirut.

Safieddine was one of the most important members of the Shura Council, the highest body of the party. A source close to Hezbollah stated that he was "the most likely candidate" to succeed the deceased leader of the pro-Iranian Shiite movement.

His elimination further weakens the movement, already drained by several assassinations and against which Israel openly went to war a month ago, with frequent bombings in Lebanon.

On Tuesday night, Israeli bombings hit southern Beirut, a stronghold of the Lebanese Islamist movement now practically abandoned by its inhabitants.

Safieddine's death was confirmed a week after the elimination in Gaza on October 16 of Yahya Sinwar, considered the mastermind behind Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Blinken during their meeting that Sinwar's death "could have a positive effect on the return of hostages" held by Hamas in Gaza.

Blinken, in turn, pressed for more aid to reach civilians in the Strip, amid growing concern for the tens of thousands of people affected by the clashes in the northern Palestinian territory.

The Secretary of State, who will visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, also hopes to prevent a military escalation between Israel and Iran, an ally of Hamas and Hezbollah, following the Iranian missile attack on Israel on October 1.

Washington stated on Monday that it is working to reach a solution "as quickly as possible" to the conflict in Lebanon based on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which stipulates that only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army can be deployed in the south of the country.

In addition to the bombings, Israel has been conducting a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since September 30 to neutralize Hezbollah in the area and allow the return of 60,000 residents from the north of its territory who were displaced by the constant rocket attacks over the past year.

Hezbollah stated on Tuesday that they launched drones against a military base near Haifa in northern Israel and destroyed seven Israeli tanks on the border.

Israel, on the other hand, intensified its bombings in Lebanon, where at least 10 people were killed in Hezbollah strongholds in the east and south of the country, according to Lebanese authorities.

The Israeli army expanded its attacks on Hezbollah's financial system, bombing offices of the microcredit company Al Qard al Hassan, linked to the Shiite movement.

The army announced on Tuesday the death in Syria of a senior official responsible for "Hezbollah's fund transfers" and claimed to have hit a bunker of the group with "tens of millions of dollars."

At least 1,552 people have died in Lebanon since September 23, when Israel began bombing Hezbollah targets, according to an Afp count based on official data.

In mid-October, the UN counted nearly 700,000 displaced people in the country.

Meanwhile, the October 2023 Hamas attack claimed the lives of 1,206 people, mostly civilians.

Of the 251 individuals abducted by Hamas that day, 97 remain captive in Gaza, although 34 of them were declared dead by the army.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza, where 2.4 million people lived before the war, has so far resulted in 42,718 deaths, mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, under Hamas control, considered reliable by the UN.