A portrait of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah sits amidst the destruction in an area targeted by Israeli airstrikes overnight in Saq Sakyeh, September 26, 2024.
Mahmoud Zaiyat | AFP | Getty Images
Potential successor to murdered Hezbollah leader Saeed Hassan Nasrallah Lebanese security officials said Saturday that he had not been in contact since Friday, following an Israeli airstrike that allegedly targeted him.
In an attack on an Iranian-backed Lebanese group, Israel carried out a major attack late Thursday on the southern outskirts of Beirut, with Axios citing three Israeli officials as saying they were targeted. Hashem Saffieddin Inside the underground bunker.
A Lebanese security official and two other Lebanese security officials said the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the southern outskirts of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, since Friday has prevented rescue workers from searching the attack site. He said he was no longer able to do so.
Hezbollah has so far made no comment about Saffieddin since the attack.
Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Friday that the military was still assessing Thursday night’s airstrike, which targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters.
The loss of Nasrallah’s rumored successor will be a further blow to Hezbollah and its backer Iran. Israel’s attacks across the region over the past year have accelerated sharply in recent weeks, weakening Hezbollah’s leadership.
Lebanese security officials said Israel launched a pre-emptive strike on the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday, sharpening the conflict in Lebanon after more bomb attacks on the outskirts of Beirut and Israeli forces launched raids in the south. announced that it had expanded.
Israel has launched an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of firefights with Hezbollah. The fighting has so far been largely confined to the Israeli-Lebanese border area, and has occurred in parallel with fighting in Israel a year ago. war in gaza against the Palestinian organization Hamas.
Israel said it aims to allow tens of thousands of its citizens to return safely to their homes in northern Israel, which has been under shelling by Hezbollah since October 8 last year.
Israeli attacks eliminated many Hezbollah military leaders, including Secretary-General Nasrallah, in an airstrike on September 27.
Lebanese officials say the Israeli attack has killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians, including rescue workers, and forced 1.2 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, to flee their homes.
Lebanese security officials told Reuters that Saturday’s attack on a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli killed a Hamas member, his wife and two children. Palestinian media also reported that a militant leader was killed in the attack.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack on the Sunni Muslim port city of Tripoli, which its warplanes targeted during the 2006 war with Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Israel shells Dahiyeh, once a bustling, densely populated area of Beirut and a Hezbollah stronghold, nightly.
Smoke billowed over Dahieh on Saturday, reducing much of it to rubble and forcing residents to flee to other parts of Beirut and Lebanon.
In northern Israel, air raid sirens sounded and people ran for shelter amid rocket attacks from Lebanon.
Israel considers options against Iran
The violence occurred as the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on southern Israel approaches. October 7th In 2023, 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza have left approximately 42,000 Palestinians dead. kicked out Almost all of the enclave’s 2.3 million people.
Iran, which supports both Hezbollah and Hamas and lost a key commander of its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps in airstrikes in Syria this year, fired a volley of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday. The attack caused little damage.
Israel has so far Weighing options In response to Iranian attacks.
Oil prices are rising due to possible attacks on Iranian oil facilities as Israel pursues its goals of driving back Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and eliminating Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip.
president of the united states joe biden On Friday, he called on Israel to: Consider alternatives Regarding attacks on Iranian oil fields, he added that he believed Israel had not yet reached a conclusion on how it would attack. Respond to Iran.
Israeli news site Ynet reported that the top US Middle East official, Army General Michael Kurilla, will be heading to Israel soon. Israeli and U.S. officials could not be reached for comment.
