An Israeli strike on Beirut targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, a report citing an Israeli source has confirmed. Hashem Safieddine is the man widely regarded as the heir of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike. Hashem Safieddine has been the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council since 2001.
Hashem Safieddine has long been considered Hezbollah’s second in command. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia have designated him a terrorist. Hashem Safieddine is the late Hezbollah commander’s maternal cousin. He is alleged to have overseen the trafficking of narcotics, weapons and cash besides being involved in money laundering.
The Biden administration believes it is appropriate for Israel to continue with its ground and air attacks on Hezbollah for now, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday, even as he acknowledged the risk of the operation in Lebanon expanding beyond Israel’s current aims.
Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday after two weeks of intense airstrikes in a worsening conflict that has drawn in Iran and risks sucking in the United States.
Washington has repeatedly warned Israel against escalating the conflict, but a three-week ceasefire proposal put forward by the U.S. and other countries last week was quickly dismissed by Israel in favor of intensified operations.
More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli attacks, and nearly 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the last year, most of them in the past two weeks, Lebanese authorities said.
The United States has continued to provide Israel with arms despite tensions during the past year over the conduct of its war in Gaza, which started when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Washington has raised concerns about the civilian toll of that conflict and at times urged Israel to restrain its forces to calm international outrage.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
