Hashim Safieddin was reportedly inside Hezbollah’s underground intelligence headquarters through the Israeli airstrikes.
A Lebanese safety supply instructed Al Jazeera that Hezbollah has misplaced contact with one in all its senior leaders, Hashim Safiedine, who’s seen as a suspect, since Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood on Friday. A doable successor to slain chief Hassan Nasrallah.
As chairman of the armed group’s government committee, Safiedine is a senior member of the group. Al Jazeera correspondent Dossa Jabari reported from Beirut that he’s the cousin of the late former secretary-general Nasrallah.
Jabari stated there was a “sense of urgency” amongst Lebanese and Hezbollah officers to permit rescue groups within the space to retrieve our bodies from Friday morning’s assault.
She added that the majority Hezbollah commanders have been “shadows” and that Safieddin’s title solely got here to mild after many believed he would possibly succeed Nasrallah as Hezbollah secretary-general. killed in an Israeli airstrike.
“Now, with the potential of him being assassinated as nicely, the problem of succession inside the group turns into problematic,” Jabari defined.
“Intelligence leak”
However Al Jazeera political analyst Marwan Bishara stated the dearth of contact with Safiedine additionally proved intelligence gaps inside the group “allowed Israel to focus on and assault one chief after one other”.
Nader Hashemi, an affiliate professor of Center Jap and Islamic politics at Georgetown College, stated the lack of contact with Nasrallah’s successor is “one other severe and important setback for Hezbollah.”
“The concept they’ve misplaced contact with him is to arrange Hezbollah supporters for the information that he has been confirmed lifeless,” he instructed Al Jazeera in Ottawa, Canada.
On Friday, Reuters reported that Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani stated the army was nonetheless assessing the implications of the airstrike, which he confirmed had focused Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters.
Hezbollah has not formally commented on Safiedine’s situation for the reason that assault.
Israel launched a heavy bombing marketing campaign throughout Lebanon two weeks in the past, turning its focus to its northern border after a 12 months of cross-border exchanges that compelled hundreds of civilians to flee each side of the border. Israel’s objective is to make sure the protected return of its nationals to their houses in northern Israel whereas concurrently placing Hezbollah positions.
Final week, Israel launched a “restricted floor operation” in southern Lebanon whereas stepping up airstrikes within the space and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Related Press quoted Israeli army sources as saying that to date 9 troopers have been killed in floor conflicts with Hezbollah militants.
Based on the Lebanese Ministry of Public Well being, Israel’s violent bombing of Lebanon has killed greater than 2,000 individuals and compelled 1.2 million individuals to flee their houses.
