Israel targets Nasrallah's presumed successor Hashem Safieddine in latest airstrikes in Beirut: Report

As Israel continues to pound Lebanon, the latest reports are suggesting that the recent Israeli airstrikes in Beirut were conducted to target Hezbollah’s presumed next head Hashem Safieddine. The veteran leader, who currently heads Hezbollah’s executive council, is touted to be the successor of the group’s erstwhile supremo Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last week.

Axios cited two Israeli sources who confirmed that Safieddine was the target of the latest strikes. However, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has not yet commented on the latest attack. Interestingly, Friday’s strike sounded similar to the explosions that rocked the region and killed Nasrallah.

Several Israeli media stated that the Jewish nation reportedly used dozens of 2,000-lb bunker-buster bombs in its strike last week, leaving craters dozens of meters deep. On Friday, the Israeli forces also conducted strikes in the West Bank, killing 18 people.

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Israel orders evacuation in southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of a southern Lebanese city and other communities in the north of an UN-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week.

On Thursday, Israeli officials told locals to leave Nabatieh, a provincial capital in southern Lebanon, and several towns and villages north of the Litani River. Some zones that are slated for evacuation are as far as 60 km from the contested boundary between Israel and Lebanon.

According to The Guardian, the newly displaced locals will now join more than a million people who are already on the move. This is also straining the Lebanese government’s already limited resources and is contributing to what the UN has been claiming is an acute humanitarian crisis.

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Meanwhile, Israel continued with its air offensive against Hezbollah in Beirut. As per the report, multiple airstrikes were heard in the capital on Thursday afternoon, until late into the evening, with one reportedly hitting the office of Hezbollah’s media department in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut.

According to Axios, two Israeli officials noted that Safieddine’s bunker was hit in the latest attacks. However, none of the reports made it clear whether Safieddine had been killed. The latest attacks made many question what the future of Hezbollah will be.

With inputs from agencies.