By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-22 22:06:13 | Updated at 2024-10-23 01:40:52
4 hours ago
Israel’s army confirmed Tuesday it “eliminated” Hezbollah’s Hashem Safieddine, apparent successor of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, in a strike in a southern Beirut suburb three weeks ago.
“It can now be confirmed that in an attack approximately three weeks ago, Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, and Ali Hussein Hazima, the head of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Directorate, were killed along with other Hezbollah commanders,” the army said in a statement.
Hezbollah has not yet issued a statement regarding the claim.
On October 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military has “taken out” Safieddine, without specifically naming him.
In an address to the people of Lebanon, Netanyahu said Israeli forces “took out thousands of terrorists, including [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah’s replacement and the replacement of his replacement”.
Late on Tuesday, the army said that Israel’s air force “conducted a precise, intelligence-based strike on Hezbollah’s main intelligence headquarters” in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Lebanese capital three weeks ago.
