The newest Hezbollah leader has reportedly been killed in a deadly blitz. Israel claimed today (October 22) that Hashem Safieddine died in an airstrike in southern Beirut earlier this month, the Sun reports.
He has been described as a “powerful cleric” within Hezbollah, and took the reigns after Hassan Nasrallah’s death.
The Israeli military has also confirmed Safieddine’s death, with IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee stating he had been “eliminated.”
Safieddine, who previously served as head of Hezbollah’s executive council, was killed alongside the head of the group’s intelligence division and 25 other members, reports indicate.
Safieddine’s death comes less than a month after Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for over 30 years, was killed in a targeted airstrike on the group’s headquarters in southern Beirut on September 27.
Safieddine was reportedly in a bunker meeting with senior Hezbollah officials when it was struck by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Sources suggest that Israeli forces had been closely monitoring the bunker, which they believe was a key command centre for Hezbollah.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi issued a stark warning following Safieddine’s death, saying: “We reached Nasrallah, his successor, and most of the leaders of Hezbollah.
“We will know how to reach everyone who threatens the security of the citizens of Israel.”
The military’s actions come amid a continued offensive against Hezbollah’s leadership.
In addition to targeting Hezbollah’s leaders, the Israeli military also carried out strikes on a financial institution linked to the group.
The IDF hit 15 branches of Al-Qard Al-Hasan, an organisation accused of funding Hezbollah’s operations, with one nine-story building being destroyed in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
