Israel confirms next Hezbollah chief Hashem Safieddine killed

BEIRUT: A spokesperson of the Israeli army allegedly stated that the highly touted next Hezbollah leader, Hashem Safieddine, was killed on Saturday.

Saudi news organisation Al Hadath claimed that the Israeli strike which targeted the Al-Dahiya suburb of Beirut on Thursday evening killed senior Hezbollah officials, including Safieddine who is the current head of Hezbollah’s executive council.

The position was previously held by former Hezbollah Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Dahiya last week. Safieddine was touted as the most likely to become the next Hezbollah Secretary General

The strike also targeted the head of Hezbollah’s communications system, Mohammad Rashid Skadi.

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Israeli media stated that they expect no survivors from the devastating attack, stating that the attack was even more sever than the strike which killed former Hezbollah leader, Nasrallah.

Thursday’s Israeli strike targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, in an attempt to kill attendees of a meeting held between senior Hezbollah members.

Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, claimed they had not been able to verify the Saudi report.

Safieddine is one of Hezbollah’s founding members and in 1998 became the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, the same position his cousin, Hassan Nasrallah, held before becoming the groups Secretary General. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh last week.

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Apart from overseeing Hezbollah’s political affairs, he also manages the groups military operation though a seat on the Jihad council. Despite no confirmation of his succession, he is widely thought to take over leadership of the group.

This is a developing story