Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces have killed two separate Hezbollah members named to replace Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the internationally-designated terrorist group killed in a Sept. 27 Israeli airstrike.
“We have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and the replacement of his replacement,” Netanyahu said.
“Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many many years. Now you, the Lebanese people, you stand at a significant crossroads. It is your choice. You can now take back your country. You can return it to a path of peace and prosperity. If you don’t, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister didn’t identify Nasrallah’s successor by name in his Tuesday remarks.
Israeli officials have previously alluded to Hashem Safieddine—a Lebanese Shia cleric who has served on Hezbollah’s executive council—as Nasrallah’s possible replacement.
Some reports out of Lebanon have suggested Safieddine was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last week. Safieddine’s whereabouts remain unclear in the days since the reported strike.
Asked during an Oct. 7 press briefing if Israel could confirm Safieddine’s death, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said, “We don’t have that confirmation yet.”
Hagari said the IDF would issue a statement if and when it can confirm Safieddine’s death.
Hezbollah launched rockets at Israeli-controlled areas of the contested Golan Heights on Oct. 8, 2023, just hours after Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel in an attack that left around 1,200 Israelis dead.
For the past year, the Israeli military has had to divide its attention between Israel’s north and south. On the southern front, Israeli forces have battled across the Gaza Strip, working to destroy Hamas and return around 250 people taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023. In the north, Israeli forces have continued to trade fire with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which is organized as both a militant and political movement within Lebanese society, has sustained extensive losses in recent weeks.
A mysterious wave of pager explosions on Sept. 17 and 18 appeared to maim and kill several Hezbollah members.
Within days of the pager blasts, Israeli forces stepped up their campaign of airstrikes across Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah’s leadership, as well as its warfighting capabilities.
Last week, the Israeli military began cross-border ground operations within Lebanon. The ground operations appear focused on destroying Hezbollah’s arms stockpiles and forcing Hezbollah’s fighting forces to retreat further north, away from the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem issued a statement on Oct. 8, insisting Hezbollah remains organized despite the growing pressure from Israel.
Qassem said Hezbollah is preparing an election to appoint their next secretary-general to replace Nasrallah. Further, he said the Israeli campaign “has not affected our will, and will not affect our determination.”
In the same speech, Qassem said he approved of efforts by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to negotiate a cease-fire in the cross-border conflict.
Previously, Hezbollah leaders had vowed to keep fighting with Israel until the fighting in the Gaza Strip ends, but Qassem didn’t appear to tie a cease-fire in Lebanon with a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip during his Tuesday remarks.
