Beirut- Hezbollah said it has lost contact with one of its senior leaders, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine since Friday after an Israeli air strike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighbourhood. Safieddine was seen as a possible successor to late leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated by Israel in a similar strike last Friday.
As the chairman of Hezbollah Executive Council, Sayyed Safieddine is a very high-ranking member of the organisation.
Sky News Arabia quoting Lebanese security sources reported that the chances of anyone surviving the targeted strike involving Safieddine in Dahiyeh were “almost zero.”
Israel’s Channel 12 claimed that IRGC Quds Force chief Esmail Ghaani was also likely present at the meeting that was targeted by the Israelis and was reportedly injured. There has been no word from Iran or Hezbollah on these reports.
Nader Hashemi, associate professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at Georgetown University, says losing contact with Nasrallah’s successor is “another serious and significant setback for Hezbollah”.
“The wording that they’ve lost contact with him is an attempt to prepare Hezbollah supporters with the coming announcement that he has been confirmed dead,” Hashemi was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
