Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday (8) that Hashem Safieddine, tipped to replace Hassan Nasrallah as head of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, “probably” died last Friday, in an attack in Beirut .
“Hezbollah is a leaderless organization. Nasrallah was eliminated, his replacement was probably also eliminated. This has a dramatic effect on everything that happens. There is no one to make decisions, no one to act,” said the minister during a visit to the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Nasrallah, who led the pro-Iranian group for more than 30 years, was unexpectedly killed in a bombing south of Beirut in late September, and less than a week later Israel attacked the same region, targeting his possible successor.
According to the broadcaster Al Jazeerafrom Qatar, citing Lebanese security sources, Hezbollah has lost contact with the cleric, although it has not yet confirmed his death.
Two weeks ago, Israel launched a campaign of attacks against Hezbollah, concentrated mainly in southern and eastern Lebanon, but also targeting the capital Beirut, killing many of the terrorist group’s leaders.
Additionally, last week it began a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, which Israeli authorities describe as “limited operations” against Shiite infrastructure along the border.
At least 11 Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes with the Shiite group since the start of the operation, according to the IDF. Lebanese authorities say more than 2,000 people have been killed during the parallel war between Israel and Hezbollah.
According to information on the website Iran InsightSafieddine is 60 years old and studied theology alongside Nasrallah in Najaf, Iraq, and Qom, Iran, two important centers of Shiite religious education. Both became members of Hezbollah in the terrorist group’s early years.
The target of sanctions from the United States and Saudi Arabia, Safieddine led Hezbollah’s executive council and, in addition to political and ideological affinities, has family ties to Iran, the group’s main supporter.
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