Written by Maya Gebely
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Israel’s defense minister said on Tuesday that a replacement for slain Hezbollah leader Syed Hassan Nasrallah appears to have been “eliminated,” in another blow to Lebanon’s Iran-backed group. Dew.
As Israel launches ground operations in southwestern Lebanon, expanding its invasion into new areas and Hezbollah leaves the door open to a negotiated ceasefire, Defense Minister Yoav Galant makes the announcement regarding Hashem Saffieddin. went.
Saffieddin, a senior Hezbollah official, was widely expected to succeed Nasrallah. Mr. Saffieddin has not been heard from in public since the Israeli airstrike late last week.
“Hezbollah is an organization without a leader. Nasrallah has been eliminated, and probably his replacement as well,” Gallant told officers from the Israeli military’s Northern Command in a short video distributed by the military.
“There is no one making decisions, no one acting,” he said, without providing further details.
Like Nasrallah, Saffieddin is a black-turbaned cleric who is a descendant of Islam’s prophet Muhammad. His physical resemblance to Nasrallah, who led Lebanon’s Shiite group for more than 30 years, is also attracting attention as a top candidate to succeed him.
Mr Saffieddin did not attend a meeting in Beirut’s southern suburbs on the night of September 27, the day Israeli airstrikes killed Mr Nasrallah.
But he is a prime target for Israel, and has been groomed as an influential leader and potential successor. As chairman of Hezbollah’s executive council, he oversees the group’s political affairs and also serves on the Jihad Council, which governs military operations.
Ceasefire efforts
In a televised address that aired before the video was released along with Gallant’s announcement, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said he supported attempts to secure a ceasefire, calling it a precondition for stopping the war in Gaza. I didn’t mention it the first time. Fighting on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Qassem said Hezbollah supports attempts by Hezbollah ally Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri to secure a cessation of fighting, which has escalated in recent weeks with Israeli ground incursions and killings of Hezbollah leaders. said.
“We support the political movement led by Berri in the name of a ceasefire,” Qasem said in a 30-minute televised address.
This marks a change in position after the group has been fighting for a year in support of Palestinians in the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, and has said it will not stop without a ceasefire there. It is not clear whether this is the case.
Qassem said in a private meeting that the conflict with Israel is a war of who will cry first, and Hezbollah will not be the first to cry. Despite “severe blows” from Israel, the group’s capabilities remained intact.
“Dozens of cities are within range of Resistance missiles. I assure you that our capabilities are fine,” Qassem said.
His televised address aired 11 days after Nasrallah’s killing, the most devastating setback Israel has inflicted on its enemies in recent decades. Qassem said the group will select a new secretary general and announce it once completed.
He said Israel had not yet made progress after ground clashes in southern Lebanon a week ago.
“In any case, once the ceasefire issue has materialized and diplomacy achieves it, all other details can be discussed and a decision taken,” Qasem said. “If the enemy (Israel) continues the war, the battlefield will decide.”
Warning from Iran
Tensions in the region sparked by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack on southern Israel a year ago have escalated in recent weeks to a series of Israeli ground and air operations against Lebanon. On October 1, Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas, fired a missile at Israel.
Iran warned Israel on Tuesday against any retaliatory attacks. Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi said attacks on Iranian infrastructure would be met with retaliation.
Arakchi will visit Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries starting Tuesday to discuss ways to “prevent the Zionist regime’s shameless crimes in Lebanon following its crimes in Gaza.”
Gulf Arab states are trying to reassure Tehran of their neutrality in the conflict, sources told Reuters.
Israel’s area of ​​operations in Lebanon is expanding. The Israeli military said it was carrying out a “limited, localized and targeted operation” in southwestern Lebanon, having previously announced similar operations in the southeast.
Israeli forces again attacked the southern outskirts of Beirut overnight, saying they had killed Hezbollah’s budget and logistics chief, Suhail Hussein Husseini. Suhail Hussein Husseini is the latest perpetrator of assassinations of several high-ranking members of the organization.
