Israel confirms suspected Nasrallah successor killed

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Lerato Khumalo

Hezbollah continued to shell Israel. Around 140 projectiles were fired from Lebanon, the Israeli army said late in the evening. Details were not initially given. For residents in downtown Tel Aviv, the morning began with a rocket alarm: people rushed to shelters and dull explosions could be heard.

It was the second day in a row that Hezbollah fired rockets into the Tel Aviv area. The militia claimed it hit an Israeli intelligence center north of the city. The Israeli army, however, said that two projectiles fired from Lebanon were intercepted by missile defenses.

The militia allied with Iran has declared that it will only stop its attacks once a ceasefire has been agreed for Gaza. However, there has been no progress for months in negotiations mediated by the USA, Egypt and Qatar. The killing of Hamas leader Sinwar last week has not changed this.

Apart from Nasrallah, the Israeli military has so far mainly killed military commanders, but not members of the militia’s upper political ranks. Hezbollah may have suffered its worst blows in decades, but it is likely to continue the conflict with Israel – albeit significantly weakened. Last year, Safi al-Din said: “It may take one war, two wars, three wars” and require “multiple confrontations,” but ultimately Israel must be destroyed.

Safi al-Din – also known as Safieddine in a paraphrased version – as head of the Executive Council has long been one of the most important figures within the militia’s leadership. He was around 60 years old – his exact age is unknown. He is said to have been trained in Iran in the 1980s. He was Nasrallah’s cousin on his mother’s side and, according to the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, the father of the son-in-law of powerful Iranian general Ghassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq by a US drone strike in 2020.

During the times when Nasrallah was not in Lebanon, Safi al-Din took over the role of secretary general, the Israeli military said. He directed terrorist attacks against Israel. The United States and Saudi Arabia declared him a terrorist in 2017. They hold him responsible, among other things, for a suicide attack on the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut, in which a total of 241 US soldiers were killed in 1983.

Israel is determined to defend itself against its enemies. After the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s elite force, fired around 200 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state in early October, Israel announced retaliation. It remains unclear when and how Israel will strike back against Iran. After the publication of US intelligence information about Israel’s retaliation plans, the US Federal Police FBI is investigating. The USA is Israel’s most important ally.