The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said that Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut earlier this month. Hezbollah's executive council's head Safieddine was presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah after he was killed in September, The Times of Israel reported. According to IDF, Hashem was the cousin of Hassan Nasrallah.
According to Israeli military, Safieddine was killed alongside Hussein Ali Hazima, the Commander of Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters during the strike on October 4. The airstrike had targeted Hezbollah's underground intelligence headquarters in Beirut, as per the Israeli army was "in the heart of a civilian population" in the Lebanese capital's southern suburb, known as Dahiyeh. The IDF said that over 25 members of Hezbollah's intelligence division, including other top commanders, were at the headquarters when the strike was conducted, The Times of Israel reported.
Safieddine had been out of contact since the strike. However, the IDF could today confirm his death. Hezbollah has not yet released a statement confirming his death, the report said.
The US State Department had designated Hashem Safieddine as a terrorist in 2017. In a statement shared on X, the IDF stated, "Hashem Safieddine, Head of the Hezbollah Executive Council and Ali Hussein Hazima, Commander of Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters, were eliminated during a strike on Hezbollah's main intelligence HQ in Dahieh approx. 3 weeks ago.
Hashem.
