News from Israel and Gaza: Biden will apparently speak on the phone with Netanyahu – Politics

According to the Israeli Defense Minister, a promising candidate to succeed the slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine, is probably dead. Hezbollah is a “headless organization,” says Joav Gallant, according to his office. “Nasrallah has been eliminated and his successor has probably also been eliminated,” the defense minister said. The minister did not mention Safieddine, the head of the Hezbollah Executive Council, by name. Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities had suffered serious setbacks, Gallant said.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said in a video address published on Tuesday evening: Israel had “eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah’s successor and his successor’s successor.” He also did not mention Safieddine’s name. Another military spokesman said, according to the Times of IsraelThe consequences of the air strike still have to be investigated.

It had already become known at the weekend that an attack by the Russian army on Beirut was probably aimed at Safieddine. He was seen as the most promising candidate to succeed Nasrallah, who was also killed in an Israeli attack. Israel bombed a meeting of the Hezbollah leadership in an underground bunker around midnight, at which Safieddine was also present, it was said on Friday night. It is unclear whether Safieddine was actually in the bunker at the time. The news channel Al-Jazeera reported a few days ago that Hezbollah had lost contact with Safieddine. However, Hezbollah rejected the reports as false.

Safieddine is a cousin of Nasrallah and is said to have good connections to Iran. Naim Kassim is also considered Nasrallah’s successor; he is deputy secretary general of Hezbollah and one of the organization’s few still living leaders.

Sheikh Naim Kassim vows Lebanon to a long fight, but also shows interest in a ceasefire with Israel, reports Tomas Avenarius: