October 4, 2024 | Flash Brief
IDF Targets Nasrallah Successor, Destroys Hezbollah Weapons Smuggling Tunnel
October 4, 2024 | Flash Brief
IDF Targets Nasrallah Successor, Destroys Hezbollah Weapons Smuggling Tunnel
Latest Developments
Israel conducted an airstrike in Beirut on Wednesday night that targeted Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, Israeli officials told Axios and The New York Times. Safieddine is a likely successor to former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whom Israel killed in a targeted strike in Beirut last week. It remains unclear whether Safieddine was killed in Wednesday’s strike, which reportedly targeted an underground bunker belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters. An Israeli official said Hezbollah’s intelligence chief, Hussein Hazimah, was also at the bunker, Axios reported.
On Thursday, Israeli fighter jets destroyed a 3.5-kilometer-long tunnel connecting Syria and Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel says Hezbollah used the tunnel to smuggle Iranian-supplied weapons into Lebanon. In a separate overnight strike, the IDF also struck the Masnaa border crossing, where Israeli officials claim is currently Hezbollah’s primary route for bringing Iranian weapons into Lebanon.
Meanwhile, as Israelis celebrated the Jewish New Year on October 3 and 4, Hezbollah attacked Israel with over 300 rockets and several drones, the IDF said.
Expert Analysis
“Israel’s ongoing decapitation of Hezbollah’s leadership should be a warning to Iran’s supreme leader, his IRGC commanders, his intelligence services, and his nuclear weapon scientists. They could be next.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO
“Hashem Safieddine presided over Hezbollah’s Executive Council — the body overseeing all of its social activities — and sat on the group’s Jihad Council, making him intimately familiar with both facets of Hezbollah. His death, if confirmed, will deprive Hezbollah of a worthy successor to Nasrallah, throwing the organization’s ability to regenerate into question.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow
“The IDF is carrying out the operation against Iran-backed Hezbollah with determination and precision. Closing smuggling routes, decapitating top brass, and eliminating the terror organization’s military infrastructure are key steps to weakening the terror regime in Lebanon.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network
Related Analysis
“Analysis: The impact of Israeli operations on Hezbollah’s organizational structure,” FDD’s Long War Journal
“Elimination of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah a Watershed Moment in Israel’s War Against Iranian Proxies,” FDD Flash Brief
“10 Things to Know About Hezbollah,” FDD Insight