Israel-Hezbollah Conflict: Israeli warplanes launched an intense barrage of airstrikes in Lebanon in order to target Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine, a cousin and the likely successor of the assassinated group leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to Israeli officials. It is not yet clear whether Safieddine, who was presumed to be at the meeting of senior Hezbollah officials, was killed in the barrage.
Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, came under renewed strikes near midnight on Thursday after Israel ordered people to leave their homes in some areas, residents and security sources said. Safieddine was targeted in an underground bunker, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid. Israel's military declined to comment.
This attempted assassination is the latest effort by Israel to systematically eliminate Hezbollah's leadership, after its biggest successes against the Lebanese militant group when it assassinated Nasrallah and several Hezbollah commanders within a week. Israel says its operations in Lebanon seek to allow tens of thousands of its citizens to return home after Hezbollah bombardments during the Gaza war forced them to evacuate from its north.
Who is Hashem Safieddine?
Safieddine was born in the early 1960s in southern Lebanon and was one of Hezbollah's earliest members. He joined after the the Shiite Muslim group was formed in the 1980s during Lebanon's civil war with Iranian guidance, according to The New York Times. Safieddine rose quickly in Hezbollah's ranks alongside Nasrallah, playing the role of the group's political, spiritual and cultural leader along with overseeing its military activities.
Safieddine usually appeared in a black turban, marking him as a revered Shiite cleric who could trace his ancestry back to the Prophet Muhammad. He was promoted to Hezbollah's Consultative Assembly, the group's highest council, in 1995 and was soon appointed as the head of its Jihadi Council, which oversees Hezbollah's military activities. In 1998, Safieddine was elected to lead the party’s Executive Council, a position held twice by Nasrallah.
Safieddine was designated a terrorist by the United States and Saudi Arabia in May 2017 for his leadership role in Hezbollah and the State Department called him a "senior leader" in the group's executive council. Safieddine completed his education in Iran and formed strong relations with Tehran during his religious studies in the city of Qom before returning to Lebanon to work for Hezbollah.
He was a close friend of General Qassam Soleimani, a former Iranian general who was killed by a US airstrike ordered by former President Donald Trump in 2020. Safieddine's son Reza Hashem Safieddine married the Iranian general’s daughter, Zeinab Suleimani, later that year. Furthermore, Safieddine's brother was described by the US Treasury Department as Hezbollah's representative to Iran.
What is happening in Lebanon now?
Israel is currently weighing its options for retaliation after Iran's largest-ever assault on its arch-enemy on Tuesday while hitting Beirut with new air strikes in its battle against Hezbollah. On Thursday, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told CNN his country had "a lot of options" for retaliation and would show Tehran its strength "soon".
Israel said Hezbollah launched about 230 rockets from Lebanon towards Israel on Thursday. Hezbollah said it targeted what it called Israel's "Sakhnin base" for military industries in Haifa Bay on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel with a salvo of rockets. It also targeted Israel's "Nesher base" in Haifa with a salvo of Fadi 2 rockets.
Israel, which has been fighting Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza for almost a year, sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday after two weeks of intense airstrikes in a worsening conflict that has drawn in Iran and risks involving the United States. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani also urged serious ceasefire efforts to stop what he called Israel's aggression.
(with agency input)
ALSO READ | Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills Hassan Nasrallah's potential successor Hashem Safieddine: Reports
ALSO READ | Israeli defence forces extend evacuation orders in Lebanon amid escalating ground offensive
