 "Who was Hashem Safieddine Hassan Nasrallah’s successor, killed by Israel? Which Hezbollah leaders remain?")
Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was reportedly killed in an attack in Beirut around three weeks ago, along with several other commanders, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday.
Hezbollah has not yet confirmed this claim.
The IDF reported that Safieddine died when the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah’s underground intelligence headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut. According to the IDF, more than 25 Hezbollah members were present at the site during the strike.
Ali Hussein Hazima, head of Hezbollah’s intelligence unit, was also killed in the attack, according to the IDF.
The Israeli military did not provide further details on how it verified Safieddine’s death.
Israeli airstrikes in Beirut on October 3 had targeted Safieddine. After the attack, Hezbollah lost contact with Safieddine, leading to uncertainty about his status.
The Israeli military assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the militant group’s chief, in a targeted strike on September 27. Several other Hezbollah commanders have been killed as well.
In a video message addressed to the Lebanese people at the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has “degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including [longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and his replacement’s replacement.”
“Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been in many, many years,” he added.
Who was Hashem Safieddine?
Like his cousin, Hassan Nasrallah , Safieddine, in his 60s, was one of Hezbollah’s earliest members, joining in the 1980s. He quickly rose up the ranks alongside Nasrallah, playing key roles and serving as a political, spiritual and cultural leader, as well as leading the group’s military activities at one point.
Such was his ascent in Hezbollah that he was promoted to the top echelons of the organisation, including the Jihadi Council, which controls the military activities, and the governing Consultative Assembly.
It is reported that the Hezbollah leader had close ties to Iran, one that he began cultivating when he studied in the Iranian city of Qom. He also developed close ties to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force Major General Qasem Soleimani , who died in a US airstrike in Baghdad in 2020.
Additionally, Safieddine’s son Reza Hashem Safieddine is married to the Iranian general’s daughter, Zeinab Suleimani.
In May 2017, the US designated Hashem Safieddine as a terrorist for his prominent role in Hezbollah, describing him as a serious threat to national security.
What does Hezbollah’s leadership look like now?
Israel’s targeting of Safieddine comes on the heels of it successfully wiping out other Hezbollah veteran leaders such as Hassan Nasrallah, Ibrahim Aqil, Ali Karaki among others. Many experts note that these killings have dealt a huge blow to the Lebanon-based militant group.
However, that is not to say that they lack direction or leadership. There’s 71-year-old Naim Qassem, who has been Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general since 1991 and is considered to be the movement’s “number two.”
Qassem was appointed deputy secretary general under Hezbollah’s late secretary general, Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack in 1992, and remained in the role when Nasrallah became leader.
Born in the Nabatieh governorate’s Kfar Kila, he has a long history in Shia political activism. While it is not clear which roles he has held within the group, it is said that he has overseen part of Hezbollah’s educational network and has also been involved in overseeing the group’s parliamentary activities.
Following Nasrallah’s killing, he even made a public speech, saying that Hezbollah fighters were ready to fend off Israel in a ground operation. “We will face any possibility and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement,” Qassem said.
There’s also Talal Hamieh, who is in charge of Hezbollah’s external operations and Khodor Nader, who heads Hezbollah’s security unit. Furthermore, Abu Ali Rida, the commander of the Badr regional division is also alive. However, no one knows of his current location.
From the political wing of Hezbollah, Ibrahim Amin Al-Sayyed, who serves as the head of the group’s political council, and Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah’s bloc in the Lebanese parliament, are also still alive.
Which Hezbollah leaders have been killed?
But it seems the damage to Hezbollah has been done. Over the past few days, Israel has systematically gone after several of Hezbollah’s top commanders .
The biggest blow was that of Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike. But he wasn’t the only one. Israel also took out Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council. He was considered by many to be the potential successor to Nasrallah.
There’s also the deaths of Ibrahim Akil, the top commander and leader of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces. According to the US, Akil was part of the group that carried out the 1983 bombing of the United States Embassy in Beirut and orchestrated the taking of German and American hostages. The airstrike that killed Akil also claimed the life of Ahmad Wehbe, the commander of the Radwan Forces.
Mohammad Surour, the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, and Ibrahim Kobeissi, the man behind Hezbollah’s missile unit have also been killed by Israel. Earlier in July, Fuad Shukr , who had been involved in the massive suicide bombings launched against the US, French and Israeli targets in 1983, was also taken out by Israel.
Does this mean the end of Hezbollah?
With the few leaders alive, many are asking if this marks the end of Hezbollah. The answer to that isn’t a straight yes or no.
Lina Khatib, an associate fellow at the Chatham House, a policy Institute in London, had told the Times of Israel, “Hezbollah will not collapse if Nasrallah is killed or incapacitated, but this will be a major blow to the group’s morale. It would also underline Israel’s security and military superiority and access.”
Other experts also note that it’s too early to tell if these killings will harm Hezbollah significantly. Sanam Vakil, the head of the Chatham House thinktank’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, wrote on X that while “both Hezbollah and Hamas are down, they are certainly not out. The continuation of fighting will undoubtedly mobilise if not radicalise another generation of fighters.”
Veteran journalist Jack Khoury also held a similar view in a piece published by Haaretz. He wrote, “This is not the first targeted killing of a Hezbollah leader that Israel has carried out … it quickly turned out that their replacements didn’t display a more moderate or less militant attitude.”
Many analysts point to Israel’s assassination of Abbas al-Musawi, the former chief of Hezbollah. Rather than cowing down, members of the group reaffirmed their commitment to the group. Some believe that the deaths of the commanders will only reinforce Hezbollah’s resolve. It will also see more involvement of other Hezbollah-aligned players in the region, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Kata’ib Hizballah in Iraq.
With inputs from agencies
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