The IDF confirmed late on Tuesday that senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine was killed in a targeted strike early in October after reports that his body was found in the destroyed Hezbollah bunker three weeks after the attack.
The IDF confirmation came after a report in Saudi Arabia's Al Hadath channel claiming the Safieddine's body was identified.
"The IDF can now confirm that Hashem Safieddine, Head of the Hezbollah Executive Council, and Ali Hussein Hazima, Commander of Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters, were eliminated by the IDF, along with additional Hezbollah commanders. The terrorists were eliminated in a strike carried out approximately three weeks ago in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut," the military said in a statement.
Safieddine, Nasrallah's cousin was considered to be his successor as Hezbollah's leader. "Due to his familial and personal ties with Nasrallah, he had a significant influence on decision-making within the terrorist organization. During times when Nasrallah was absent from Lebanon, Safieddine filled in as the Secretary-General," the IDF said. "Throughout the years, he directed terrorist attacks against the State of Israel and took part in Hezbollah's central decision-making processes."
The Al Arabiya network in Saudi Arabia said his body was found along with 23 others, who according to the IDF were members of the terror group's intelligence command including Bilal Saib Aish, who was in charge of aerial intelligence gathering in Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Syria and Ali Hussein Hazima, the Commander of Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters.
IDF strike in the Dahieh
Safieddine, on the U.S. terror list since 2017, has managed Hezbollah’s education system, finances and foreign investments, leaving military and strategic matters to Nasrallah. He has maintained close ties with Tehran and supports the Iranian regime, with his brother Abdullah serving as Hezbollah’s envoy to Iran.
Born in 1964 in a village near the southern city of Tyre, Safieddine hails from a prominent family of clerics. Throughout the current war, he has represented Nasrallah at public events, including the funerals of senior Hezbollah members killed in what was believed to be an Israeli attack.
"The wounded will return to their Jihad," Safieddine said at a recent event, adding, "If the enemy's goal is to halt support for Gaza, it must know that it will only grow."
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