The Israeli military say they eliminated the cleric tipped to succeed the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an air campaign almost 3 weeks ago.Hashem Safieddine died in air strikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Hezbollah, an effective Lebanese Shia Muslim organisation fighting Israel, has not verified Safieddines death.Its previous leader, Nasrallah, was killed by an Israeli air strike on Beirut on 27 September.After air campaign near the citys airport on 4 October, Hezbollah officials stated they had actually lost contact with Safieddine, while United States media pointed out Israeli authorities as stating the cleric had actually been the target of the bombing.Huge blasts shook the city that night, leaving plumes of smoke that could still be seen into the morning.On Tuesday, the IDF provided a statement stating Safieddine had actually been eliminated together with Ali Hussein Hazima, described as leader of Hezbollahs Intelligence Headquarters, in a strike on the organisations main intelligence headquarters in Beirut.It accused Safieddine of directing terrorist attacks versus the State of Israel for years, in addition to taking part in Hezbollahs main decision-making processes.Hezbollah is a military, political and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon.
It is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel along with the US, the UK and other countries.Safieddine himself was designated a global terrorist by the US and Saudi Arabia in 2017.
A cousin of Nasrallah, he took religious research studies in Iran and his child was married to a child of Gen Qasem Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander, who was eliminated in a 2020 US air campaign in Iraq.He is believed to have been aged about 60 at the time of his reported death. In a speech given in Beirut this summertime, Safieddine described how Hezbollah saw its management succession.In our resistance, when any leader is martyred, another uses up the flag and goes on with new, certain, strong decision, he was priced quote as stating by AFP news agency.Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah after practically a year of cross-border hostilities stimulated by the war in Gaza, stating it wanted to ensure the safe return of citizens of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, rocket and drone attacks.Over the past year, at least 2,464 Lebanese people have been killed and almost 12,000 hurt, according to Lebanons health ministry.Hezbollah has attacked Israel with thousands of rockets and drones over the very same period, and a minimum of 59 individuals have been eliminated in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, Reuters news company reports.Source: BBC-- Agencies