The sudden death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike has left the powerful Lebanese militant group grappling with a leadership crisis. Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for three decades, was killed in a Friday attack that targeted a Beirut suburb.
With Hezbollah’s operations chief Ibrahim Aqil and top commander Fuad Shukr, both killed in similar airstrikes by Israel’s military, the Iran-backed group has now turned its attention to Hashem Safieddine, a close associate of Nasrallah and widely regarded as his potential successor. Safieddine, who reportedly survived the Israeli attack, currently heads Hezbollah’s Executive Council and is a member of the group’s Jihad Council.
Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah and a cleric like his predecessor, has been a prominent figure within Hezbollah for years. He has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel and the United States, and has consistently advocated for the Palestinian cause.
Who is Hashem Safieddine ?
Born in 1964 in Deir Qanun al-Nahr, southern Lebanon, Safieddine has long been groomed as Nasrallah’s successor. He was called back from Iran in the 1990s, where he had been pursuing studies, to take on a leadership role within Hezbollah. Just two years after Nasrallah took the reins of Hezbollah, Safieddine was appointed head of the group’s Executive Council.
Over the past three decades, Safieddine has managed Hezbollah’s civilian operations, overseeing areas such as the group’s education system and finances, while Nasrallah focused on strategic matters.
At a recent event in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs, he affirmed, “Our history, our guns, and our rockets are with you,” in solidarity with Palestinian fighters.
In 2017, the US State Department designated Safieddine a terrorist after while responding to American sanctions on Hezbollah, he declared, “This mentally impeded, crazy US administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance,” adding that such actions would only reinforce Hezbollah’s determination.
The same year, he was also was blacklisted by Saudi Arabia for his role in supporting Hezbollah’s activities and his backing of the Syrian regime.
Following the assassination of another Hezbollah commander earlier this year, he warned of significant escalation against Israel, saying, “Let the enemy prepare himself to cry and wail,” at the commander’s funeral.
Safieddine’s family ties to Nasrallah, along with his religious lineage as a descendant of the Prophet, and even his physical resemblance to Nasrallah, strengthen his prospects for leadership.
In 2020, his son Rida married Zainab Soleimani, the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad. While Nasrallah went into hiding after Israeli assassination attempts in 2006, Safieddine frequently appeared in public, attending funerals and events for Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon.
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