The chances that Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor of former Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, was killed along with those with him in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on Friday are increasing, an unnamed official told Sky News Arabia.
A Lebanese security source told Sky News Arabia that the chances of anyone surviving the targeted strike were “almost zero.”
The Saudi news organization Al Hadath had previously reported that Safieddine was dead on Saturday morning.
The Saudi outlet claimed that Israel had confirmed the elimination, but The Jerusalem Post has not yet been able to verify the Saudi report.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters that Safieddine was “unreachable” since Israel struck the area on Friday. Additionally, according to three security officials, repeated Israeli strikes have blocked rescuers from searching the site where Safieddine was believed to be.
Israeli media estimated that Safieddine was wounded in the attack, but there is still no official information regarding his fate.
The assessment, similarly to Nasrallah’s case, is that anyone in the underground complex would not make it out alive, including senior Hezbollah officials that were present in the complex, Kan reported.
Israel allegedly tried to eliminate Safieddine in the Dahieh suburb in Beirut, Israeli media reported overnight between Friday and Saturday, citing Lebanese reports.
Later, three Israeli officials told the New York Times on Saturday morning that the strikes targeted a meeting of senior Hezbollah officials, including Safieddine.
This is a developing story.
Maya Gur Arieh contributed to this report.
