Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Intense Israeli strikes targeted the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, over the night of October 3 and 4, with reports suggesting that Hezbollah’s most senior leader was targeted.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid cited two Israeli sources as saying Hashem Safieddine was the target. The New York Times also reported that the strikes targeted a meeting that Safieddine was attending with other senior Hezbollah leaders in an underground bunker
Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, is presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah following his assassination in the southern Beirut suburbs of Dahieh on September 27.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued several evacuation orders for buildings in Dahieh, a known stronghold of Hezbollah, during the intense overnight attack. However, the military has not yet commented on the reports alleging that Safieddine was targeted.
Hezbollah is also still silent over reports alleging that Safieddine was targeted. Previously the group refuted reports alleging that he was appointed as its new secretary-general.
The confrontation on the Lebanese-Israeli border first broke out after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, with Hezbollah and its allies launching near-daily attacks in support of the Palestinian enclave. Israel escalated its attacks on Lebanon starting from September 17 and on September 30 it launched a ground offensive in the country.
Overall, the confrontation between Hezbollah and IDF has so far resulted in 26 civilian deaths in Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as well as the deaths of at least 31 soldiers and security officers. On the Lebanese side, more than 2,000 people have been killed, including more than 500 members of Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 151 others on October 3 alone, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
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