The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hashem Safieddine was killed in airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
Safieddine’s death has not been confirmed by Hezbollah, a potent Shia Muslim organization in Lebanon that opposes Israel.
On September 27, an Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed its former leader, Nasrallah.
US media quoted Israeli sources as stating that the cleric was the target of the explosion, but Hezbollah officials claimed they had lost communication with Safieddine following airstrikes near the city’s airport on October 4.
That night, massive explosions rocked the city, leaving smoke plumes visible into the morning.
The IDF said in a statement on Tuesday that Safieddine and Ali Hussein Hazima, who was referred to as the commander of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, had been killed in an attack on the group’s major intelligence headquarters in Beirut.
Safieddine was accused of participating in Hezbollah’s “central decision-making processes” and leading “terrorist attacks against the State of Israel” for years.
Hezbollah is a social, political, and military group with significant influence in Lebanon. Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations have classified it as a terrorist organization.
