Who is Hashem Safieddine? Nasrallah successor targeted in strike

BEIRUT: A barrage of strikes on Southern Beirut overnight led to the reports on Friday that Hashem Safieddine, who is likely to become Hezbollah’s next leader, was possibly killed in an Israeli strike.

An Israeli source revealed that an Israeli strike targeted Safieddine in the early morning according to a social media post made on X, formerly Twitter, by Axios reporter Barak Ravid. However, no confirmation of his status was reported by either side.

The Israeli military stated that it had struck Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut on Thursday, in an attempt to target a meeting held between senior Hezbollah members.

At least 20 killed including children in West Bank and Gaza

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.

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.

In the wave of strikes launched on Thursday, 15 Hezbollah fighters were killed.  Lebanon’s Health Ministry has stated that the days of heavy Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1000 people.

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