An Israeli assault in Beirut focused Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah official broadly thought-about the successor of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to guide the Iran-backed terrorist group, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Nonetheless, there was no official assertion from both the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) or Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel attacked Beirut at midnight on Thursday with an intense barrage of airstrikes, presumably whereas Safieddine attended a gathering of senior Hezbollah officers in an underground bunker, based on The New York Occasions. The bombing was probably the most intense within the space since Israel killed Nasrallah.
In keeping with the media outlet Axios, which cited Lebanese media, the Israeli assault was a lot bigger than the one who killed Nasrallah. The variety of victims isn’t but recognized.
Hashem Safieddine, designated a terrorist by the USA in 2017, performs an essential position in Hezbollah’s political affairs and is a member of the group’s Jihad Council, which manages its navy operations. A cousin of Nasrallah, Safieddine, was typically thought-about Hezbollah’s “quantity two” and likewise has shut ties to the Iranian regime.
Nasrallah had appointed Safieddine to a number of influential positions inside Hezbollah’s councils, a few of that are extra discreet. Safieddine has additionally been a spokesperson for the group on a number of events.
He has been designated a terrorist by the US State Division in 2017 and likewise by Saudi Arabia.
In the meantime, Israel has additionally claimed to have killed one other senior Hezbollah official, Mohammed Anisi, concerned within the group’s improvement of precision-guided missiles, in a latest airstrike concentrating on Hezbollah’s intelligence department in Beirut.
Hezbollah has not commented on the Israeli military’s declare.
On Thursday, a collection of large explosions rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut, killing a number of folks and shaking buildings miles away within the Lebanese capital, as Israel intensified its offensive towards Hezbollah.