Israel Confirms Killing Of Nasrallah's Likely Heir Hashem Safieddine: What It Means For Resistance?
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) on Tuesday claimed that the former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine, has been dead. Israel announced that Safieddine was assassinated along with head of the Hezbollah Executive Council and Ali Hussein Hazima, during a strike on Hezbollah’s main intelligence headquarters in Dahieh three weeks ago.
A relative of Nasrallah, Safieddine was a member of the Shura Council, one of the senior leaders and potential successor of the assassinated Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
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Israel says Safieddine filled in as the Secretary-General of Hezbollah during times when Nasrallah was absent from Lebanon, and he was instrumental in directing attacks on the Jewish state, becoming a part of the resistance group’s central decision-making processes. IDF further claimed that alongside Safieddine, it also eliminated Ali Hussein Hazima, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters.
🔴 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 Safieddine was a member of the… pic.twitter.com/Z2wQGsRxvt
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 22, 2024
Notably, on October 5, soon after Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, reports said that Hezbollah has lost contacts with Safieddine, according to Al Jazeera report, citing a Lebanese security source.
However, the group has not responded to the claims made by Israel regarding the assassination of its leader.
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Al Jazeera reporter from Lebonan Dorsa Jabbari says most of the Hezbollah commanders are “shadowy,” with Safieddine’s name only coming to light after many believed that he would possibly succeed Nasrallah.
Notably, it has been time and again proved that Hezbollah’s organizational structure cannot be defeated by assassinating its leaders, as the resistance group is not a vogue and outside outfit but a political force with Lebanese public support.
Provided that the resistance group has always survived the death of top leaders, as it is a crucial part of the government and enjoys legitimacy, Hezbollah’s deeper organizational structure enables the group to evade the blow from the loss of its leaders, even if it is huge.
