Israel has eliminated the main successor and cousin of the liquidated Secretary General of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, Hashem Safi al-Din, as well as his successor. This was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 8.
“[Israel] has destroyed Hezbollah’s capabilities. We have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, as well as his successor and his successor’s successor,” Netanyahu said in a video message quoted by The Times of Israel .
He also added that Hezbollah is currently weaker than it has been in many years.
The death of Nasrallah’s successor Safi al-Din became known on October 5. He was killed in his bunker after an attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). On October 4, the IDF announced the liquidation of the head of Hezbollah’s communications directorate, Mohammed Rashid Saqafi. On the same day, the deputy head of the movement’s political council, Mahmoud Kamati, said that all attempts by the enemy to gain a foothold in southern Lebanon had been thwarted .
The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah occurred after the events of September 17 and 18, when thousands of people, including Hezbollah employees, were injured in explosions of various devices in Lebanon. The country blamed Tel Aviv for the incident .
Israel then began to strike the movement’s targets daily, killing almost all of Hezbollah’s leadership, including the movement’s leader, Nasrallah , who was killed on September 27. Civilians were also killed. Hezbollah said it would continue to achieve its goals .
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Israel began retaliating that same day .