Hizbullah leader’s replacement ‘eliminated’, says Israel, as group leaves door open to ceasefire

Israel’s defence minister said on Tuesday it appeared the replacement for slain Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had been “eliminated”, in what would be another big blow for the Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant made the announcement about Hashem Safieddine as Israel began ground operations in southwest Lebanon, expanding its incursions to a new zone, and as Hizbullah left the door open to a negotiated ceasefire.
Safieddine, a top Hizbullah official, was widely expected to succeed Nasrallah. Safieddine has not been heard from publicly since an Israeli air strike late last week.
“Hizbullah is an organisation without a head. Nasrallah was eliminated, his replacement was probably also eliminated,” Mr Gallant told officers at the Israeli military’s northern command centre, in a brief video segment distributed by the military.
“There’s no one to make decisions, no one to act,” he said, without providing further details.
Like Nasrallah, Safieddine is a cleric who wears a black turban denoting descent from Islam’s prophet Mohammed.
Safieddine was not attending the meeting in Beirut’s southern suburbs on the evening of September 27th that Israel attacked with an air strike, killing Nasrallah.
He has been a prime target for Israel. As head of Hizbullah’s executive council, he has overseen the group’s political affairs, while also sitting on the Jihad Council, which manages its military operations.
In a televised speech shown before the release of the video with Mr Gallant’s announcement, Hizbullah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said he supported attempts to secure a truce, and for the first time did not mention the end of war in Gaza as a precondition to halting combat on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Mr Qassem said Hizbullah supported attempts by Lebanese speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, a Hizbullah ally, to secure a halt to fighting, which has escalated in recent weeks with the Israeli ground incursions and the killing of top Hizbullah leaders.
“We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire,” Mr Qassem said in his 30-minute televised address.
It was not clear whether this signalled any change in stance, after a year in which the group has said it is fighting in support of the Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and would not stop without a ceasefire there.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, Mr Qassem said the conflict with Israel was a war about who cries first, and Hizbullah would not be the first to cry. The group’s capabilities were intact despite “painful blows” from Israel.
“Dozens of cities are within range of the resistance’s missiles. We assure you that our capabilities are fine,” said Mr Qassem.
Mr Qassem said the group would elect a new secretary general and announce it once it has been done.
Israel is yet to advance after ground clashes that broke out in south Lebanon a week ago, he said.
“If the enemy [Israel] continues its war, then the battlefield will decide,” Mr Qassem said.
The regional tensions triggered a year ago by Palestinian armed group Hamas’ attack on southern Israel have spiralled in recent weeks into a series of Israeli operations by land and air against Lebanon. On October 1st, Iran, sponsor of both Hizbullah and Hamas, fired missiles at Israel.
Iran warned Israel on Tuesday against any retaliatory attacks. Foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said any attack on Iran’s infrastructure will be met with retaliation.
Mr Araqchi will visit Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East starting on Tuesday to discuss ways “to prevent the shameless crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon in continuation of the crimes in Gaza”.
The area of Israeli operations in Lebanon has been expanding. The Israeli military said it was conducting “limited, localised, targeted operations” in Lebanon’s southwest, having previously announced such operations in the southeast. – Reuters