Who is Hashem Safieddine, rumoured next leader of Hezbollah 'targeted in Israeli strike'

Israeli has fired an aggravated airstrike connected Beirut's confederate suburbs successful an effort to people Hashem Safieddine, the rumoured adjacent person of Hezbollah, according to Israeli officials.

The aerial raids targeted the Hezbollah authoritative successful an underground bunker astatine astir midnight connected Thursday but Safieddine's destiny was not clear, according to the New York Times.

The onslaught was 1 of the heaviest bombardments successful the country since Israel assassinated Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah successful a akin airstrike.

Safieddine was presumed to beryllium gathering elder Hezbollah officials and the attempted assassination comes days aft Israel’s paratroops and commandos moved into confederate Lebanon earlier this week.

Safieddine was designated a violent by the United States and Saudi Arabia successful May 2017 for his enactment relation successful Hezbollah.

At the clip helium was described arsenic “a cardinal member” of Hezbollah’s enforcement council, which oversees its “political, organizational, social, and acquisition activities”.

It added that Safieddine posed “a superior hazard of committing acts of terrorism that endanger the nationalist information and overseas argumentation of the United States.”

He was 1 of Hezbollah’s earliest members and joined aft the Shiite Muslim radical was formed successful the 1980s during Lebanon’s civilian war, according to the New York Times.

Safieddine rapidly roseate done the ranks alongside Nasrallah. In 1995 helium was promoted to Hezbollah’s highest council, its governing Consultative Assembly earlier helium was appointed caput of its Jihadi Council, which controls Hezbollah’s subject activities.

He was past elected to pb the party’s Executive Council, a presumption that was besides held doubly by Nasrallah, successful 1998.

He was aboriginal appointed arsenic Hezbollah’s secretary-general successful 1992, according to reports.

Safieddine studied successful Iran and formed beardown ties with Tehran during his spiritual studies successful the Iranian metropolis of Qom earlier helium returned to Lebanon to enactment for Hezbollah.

He was adjacent friends of Major General Qassim Suleimani, an Iranian who commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force until helium was killed successful a US airstrike successful Baghdad successful 2020.

His lad Reza Hashem Safieddine joined the Iranian general’s daughter, Zeinab Suleimani, successful a heavy publicised wedding the aforesaid year.

Safieddine’s member Abdallah Safieddine is labelled arsenic Hezbollah’s typical to Iran by the US Treasury.

The United States designated Hezbollah a violent enactment successful 1997 and holds the radical liable for aggregate attacks that killed hundreds of Americans, including the termination motortruck bombings of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks successful Beirut successful 1983, the US Embassy annex successful Beirut successful 1984 and the 1985 hijacking of TWA formation 847.