IDF Confirms Hezbollah’s Next-in-Line Killed in Early October Airstrike

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Tuesday that Hezbollah’s next-in-line, Hashim Safieddine (or Safi a-Din), was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, in early October, ending weeks of speculation about his fate.

In a statement, the IDF said:

The IDF can now confirm that Hashem Safieddine, Head of the Hezbollah Executive Council, and Ali Hussein Hazima, Commander of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters, were eliminated by the IDF, along with additional Hezbollah commanders. The terrorists were eliminated in a strike carried out approximately three weeks ago in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut.

The IAF conducted a precise, intelligence-based strike on Hezbollah’s main intelligence headquarters, deliberately located underground beneath the civilian population in the Dahieh.

Over 25 Hezbollah terrorists were inside Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters including Bilal Saib Aish, who was in charge of aerial intelligence gathering in Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Syria.

Hashem Safieddine was a member of the Shura Council, Hezbollah’s most senior military-political forum, responsible for the decision-making and policy-making in the terrorist organization.

Hashem was the cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah. Due to his familial and personal ties with Nasrallah, Hashem had a significant influence on decision-making within the terrorist organization. During times when Nasrallah was absent from Lebanon, Hashem filled in as the Secretary-General of Hezbollah. Throughout the years, Safieddine directed terrorist attacks against the State of Israel and took part in Hezbollah’s central decision-making processes.

Alongside Hashem Safieddine, the terrorist Ali Hussein Hazima, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters, was also eliminated. He was responsible for directing numerous attacks on IDF soldiers.

The IDF will continue to operate against senior Hezbollah commanders and anyone who poses a threat to Israeli civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant had both previously said earlier in the month that they believed that Safieddine had been killed. The IDF only publicly confirmed that claim on Tuesday.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.