Beirut: Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut, dealing a blow to the Iran-backed group as it reels from a growing campaign of Israeli attacks. Following the assassination of the Hezbollah chief, there has been speculation about who will succeed Nasrallah. According to various media reports, Hashem Safieddine will take over the presidency from Nasrallah.
Who is Hashem Safieddine?
- According to the Reuters news agency, 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 Nasrallah’s cousin and, like him, is a cleric who wears the black turban that denotes descent from the Prophet Muhammad.
- The US State Department designated him a terrorist in 2017 and in June he threatened a major escalation against Israel following the assassination of another Hezbollah commander. “Let (the enemy) prepare to cry and moan,” 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 the southern suburbs of Beirut, he declared: “Our history, our weapons and our rockets are with you,” in a show of solidarity with Palestinian fighters.
- Nasrallah “began to design positions for him within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah. Some of them were more opaque than others. They made him come, go out and talk,” said Phillip Smyth, an expert who studies support backed by Iran. Shiite militias.
- Safieddine’s family ties and physical resemblance to Nasrallah, as well as his religious status as a descendant of Muhammad, would count in his favor. He has also been vocal in his criticism of American politics.
- In response to US pressure on Hezbollah, he stated in 2017: “This crazy, mentally challenged US administration led by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance”, stating that such actions would only strengthen Hezbollah’s resolve.
Hezbollah chief killed
It is worth mentioning that the latest killing was reported on the same day that 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 a growing campaign of Israeli attacks. The Israeli military said on Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in Friday’s attack on the group’s central command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Hezbollah confirmed that he had been killed, without saying how.
Nasrallah’s death is a blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, removing an influential ally who helped make Hezbollah the lynchpin of Tehran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Nasrallah’s assassination as a necessary step to “change 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 difficult 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 United States fully supports Israel’s right to self-defense.
(With contributions from the agency)
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