Israel Strikes Beirut To Take Out Hassan Nasrallah's Heir Apparent Hashem Safieddine

An Israeli airstrike in Beirut reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, who is widely considered to be the successor to the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to sources cited by Reuters.

Safieddine, a key figure in the Iran-backed group, was allegedly attending a meeting with other senior Hezbollah officials in an underground bunker when the strike occurred.

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While there has been no official confirmation from either the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) or Hezbollah, the midnight airstrike was described by The New York Times as one of the heaviest bombardments in the region since Israel killed Nasrallah.

According to Axios, citing Lebanese media, the scale of the strike surpassed that of the operation that took out Nasrallah, although the number of casualties remains unclear.

Safieddine, designated a terrorist by the U.S. in 2017, plays a crucial role in Hezbollah's political and military affairs, including being a member of its Jihad Council, which oversees military operations.

A cousin of Nasrallah, he has held various influential positions within the organisation and is closely linked to the Iranian regime.

In addition to the strike targeting Safieddine, Israel claimed it had killed another high-ranking Hezbollah official, Mohammed Anisi, who was involved in developing the group's precision-guided missiles. The airstrike allegedly hit Hezbollah's intelligence branch in Beirut.

On Thursday, Beirut's southern suburbs were rocked by a series of large explosions, which killed several people and shook buildings across the city, as Israel intensified its offensive against Hezbollah.

However, Hezbollah has yet to issue an official statement in response to the Israeli military's claims.