The chances that Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor of former Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, was killed along with those with him in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on Friday are increasing, an unnamed official told Sky News Arabia.
A Lebanese security source told the news channel that the chances of anyone surviving the targeted strike were “almost zero.”
The Saudi news organization Al-Hadath had previously reported that Safieddine was dead on Saturday morning. The outlet claimed that Israel had confirmed the elimination, but The Jerusalem Post has not yet been able to verify the Saudi report.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters that the head of the terrorist group’s Executive Council has been “unreachable” since Israel struck the area on Friday. Additionally, according to three security officials, repeated Israeli strikes have blocked rescuers from searching the site where he was believed to be.
Israeli media estimated that Safieddine was wounded in the attack, but there is still no official information regarding his fate.
The assessment, similar to Nasrallah’s case, is that anyone in the underground complex would not make it out alive, including senior Hezbollah officials who were present there, Kan News reported.
Israel allegedly tried to eliminate Safieddine in the Dahieh suburb in Beirut, Israeli media reported overnight between Friday and Saturday, citing Lebanese reports.
Later, three Israeli officials told the New York Times on Saturday morning that the strikes targeted a meeting of senior Hezbollah officials, including Safieddine.