Iran military chief 'killed' by Israeli air strike in Lebanon that targeted new leader of Hezbollah

One of Iran's apical subject commanders is believed to person been killed successful an Israeli onslaught that targeted the caller person of panic radical Hezbollah.

Esmail Qaani, caput of the Quds Force – the elite helping of the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) – was reported to beryllium with the caller person of Hezbollah, Hashem Safieddine, who was targeted successful his HQ bunker successful Beirut by the Israelis.

The aerial onslaught connected Thursday nighttime during dense bombing of confederate Beirut was mounted arsenic Safieddine held a concealed gathering with different Hezbollah leaders successful the underground quality headquarters.

He had lone conscionable taken implicit from Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by the Israelis past month.

Last night, Arabic and English connection media successful the Middle East were reporting that Safieddine is highly apt to person died.

Lebanese sources told Sky News Arabia that each interaction with him has been lost. The Israeli subject has not officially confirmed his death. But it has present emerged that Qaani whitethorn besides person been astatine the meeting. Some Israeli media person reported that Qaani was wounded, portion others claimed that helium mightiness person died.

That would correspond a stunning coup for the Israelis, who promised to deed backmost aft Iran's rocket onslaught past week. Experts accidental Qaani's decease would severely weaken Iran's subject capability, but it volition besides further inflame tensions successful the spiralling conflict.

Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting aft the Jewish New Year, did not code Qaani's death. He said Israel was warring a warfare connected 'seven fronts' but gave nary denotation of erstwhile helium would onslaught Iran.

He criticised French president Emmanuel Macron who wants to boycott arms merchantability to Israel to bring it to the negotiating table.

Mr Netanyahu said: 'Is Iran imposing an arms embargo connected Hezbollah, connected the Houthis, connected Hamas and connected its different proxies?

'Of people not. What a disgrace! Israel volition triumph with oregon without their support.'

The onslaught connected Safieddine and Qaani was successful Dahieh, a suburb of confederate Beirut which is simply a Hezbollah stronghold. It has been extensively bombed by the Israeli Air Force since it began its onslaught connected Hezbollah.

Lebanese sources said it was hard to found if Qaani oregon Safieddine were live oregon dormant due to the fact that it was intolerable to spell adjacent the bombed tract of the bunker due to the fact that of drone strikes.

Several buildings were destroyed successful the assault, with the standard of devastation surpassing the onslaught that killed Nasrallah, sources said.

Qaani, 67, succeeded Qassem Soleimani arsenic person of the Quds Force aft his predecessor was killed successful a US drone onslaught adjacent Baghdad airdrome successful January 2020.

As Ayatollah Khameini's right-hand man, Qaani would person been 1 of the cardinal figures down the rocket strikes against Israel past week and successful April.

He would besides beryllium the Tehran regime's main interaction with Hezbollah, arsenic good arsenic different panic groups that are Iran's proxies, specified arsenic the Houthis successful Yemen and Iraqi militia outfits.

If Qaani is dead, it would beryllium immense stroke for Iran conscionable earlier a planned Israeli onslaught successful effect to the barrage of missiles fired astatine Israel connected October 1.

However, Iranian media denied Qaani was dead.

Mr Macron said yesterday that shipments of arms to Israel should beryllium stopped arsenic portion of a broader effort to find a governmental solution to the crisis.

'I deliberation the precedence is to get backmost to a governmental solution (and) that arms utilized to combat successful Gaza are halted. France doesn't vessel any,' Mr Macron told France Inter radio. Last period Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK was suspending 30 retired of 350 arms export licences for Israel.