The potential successor to the late Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has been incommunicado since Friday, according to a Lebanese security source.
This follows an Israeli airstrike that is believed to have targeted him. Israel's ongoing campaign against the Iran-backed Lebanese group has seen a significant strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, which, according to Axios, three Israeli officials claim was aimed at Hashem Safieddine in an underground bunker.
As reported by The New York Post, the Lebanese security source, along with two others, stated that continuous Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburb, known as Dahiyeh, have prevented rescue workers from thoroughly examining the site of the attack. Hezbollah has remained silent on Safieddine's status since the attack. Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani stated on Friday that the military was still evaluating the Thursday night airstrikes, which he claimed targeted Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters.
The potential loss of Nasrallah's speculated successor would be another significant setback for Hezbollah and its supporter, Iran. Over the past year, Israel's strikes across the region, which have notably increased in recent weeks, have significantly weakened Hezbollah's leadership.
Israel escalated its conflict in Lebanon on Saturday with its first strike in the northern city of Tripoli, according to a Lebanese security official. This comes after more bombs hit Beirut suburbs and Israeli troops initiated raids in the south. Israel has launched an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and dispatched troops across the border in recent weeks, following nearly a year of exchanging fire with Hezbollah.
Israel's stated objective is to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of its citizens to their homes in northern Israel, which have been under Hezbollah's bombardment since October 8 last year. The Israeli attacks have significantly diminished Hezbollah's senior military leadership, including Secretary General Nasrallah, who was killed in an air attack on September 27.
However, the Israeli assault has also resulted in the deaths of hundreds of ordinary Lebanese citizens, including rescue workers, according to Lebanese officials. It has also forced approximately 1.2 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, to abandon their homes.
The Lebanese security official informed Reuters that Saturday's strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli resulted in the deaths of a Hamas member, his wife, and two children. Media affiliated with the Palestinian group also reported that the strike killed a leader of its armed wing.
Israel has also been conducting nightly bombardments of Dahiyeh, once a bustling and densely populated area of Beirut and a stronghold for Hezbollah. On Saturday, smoke was seen billowing over Dahiyeh, large parts of which have been reduced to rubble, causing residents to flee to other parts of Beirut or Lebanon.
The violence coincides with the approaching anniversary of Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and approximately 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has resulted in nearly 42,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza's health ministry, and displaced almost all of the enclave's population of 2.3 million.
Iran, which supports both Hezbollah and Hamas, and which has lost key commanders of its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps to Israeli air strikes in Syria this year, launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday. However, the strikes caused minimal damage.
Israel is currently considering its response to Iran's attack. The possibility of an attack on Iran's oil facilities has led to a rise in oil prices as Israel continues its mission to push back Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and eliminate their Hamas allies in Gaza.
U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israel on Friday to consider alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields, adding that he believes Israel has not yet decided how to respond to Iran. Israeli news website Ynet reported that the top U.S. general for the Middle East, Army General Michael Kurilla, is expected to arrive in Israel in the coming day.
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