Beirut: Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut, dealing a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks. With the killing of the Hezbollah chief, there have been speculations over who will succeed Nasrallah. According to multiple media reports, Hashem Safieddine will take the chair of Nasrallah.
Who is Hashem Safieddine?
- According to news agency Reuters, Safieddine is the head of the executive council. Safieddine oversees Hezbollah's political affairs and also sits on the Jihad Council, which manages the group's military operations.
- Safieddine is a cousin of Nasrallah and like him is a cleric who wears the black turban denoting descent from Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
- The US State Department designated him a terrorist in 2017 and in June he threatened a big escalation against Israel after the killing of another Hezbollah commander. "Let (the enemy) prepare himself to cry and wail," he said at the funeral.
- Safieddine's public statements often reflect Hezbollah's militant stance and its alignment with the Palestinian cause. At a recent event in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he declared, "Our history, our guns and our rockets are with you," in a show of solidarity with Palestinian fighters.
- Nasrallah "started tailoring positions for him within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah. Some of them were more opaque than others. They've had him come, go out and speak," said Phillip Smyth, an expert who studies Iran-backed Shi-ite militias.
- Safieddine's family ties and a physical resemblance to Nasrallah, as well as his religious status as a descendant of Mohammed, would all count in his favour. He has also been vocal in his criticism of US policy.
- In response to American pressure on Hezbollah, he stated in 2017, "This mentally impeded, crazy US administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance," asserting that such actions would only strengthen Hezbollah's resolve.
Hezbollah Chief killed
It is worth mentioning the latest killing was reported on the same day Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut, dealing a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks. The Israeli military said on Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in the strike on the group's central command headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday. Hezbollah confirmed he had been killed, without saying how.
Nasrallah's death is a major blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, removing an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah into the linchpin of Tehran's network of allied groups in the Arab world.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of Nasrallah as a necessary step toward "changing the balance of power in the region for years to come." "Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist," Netanyahu said in a statement, warning of challenging days ahead.
US President Joe Biden described Nasrallah's death as a measure of justice for what he called his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese, and said the US fully supported Israel's right to self-defence.
(With inputs from agency)
