Hezbollah confirms death of leader Hassan Nasrallah after Israeli strikes on Beirut

[FearlessRoar]

Iran, Iraq to stage funerals for IRGC commander killed alongside Hezbollah chief

Iran and Iraq will both stage funerals for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Abbas Nilforoushan, killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, the IRGC’s news agency said Sunday.

Nilforoushan, a top commander in the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations arm, was killed on September 27 alongside Nasrallah in the strike on south Beirut.

The IRGC said Friday his body had been recovered from the site of the strike on the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Funeral ceremonies will be held in “Najaf and Karbala” in Iraq on Monday before the body is transferred to Iran’s holy city of Mashhad, the Sepah news agency said.

Another ceremony will take place at Tehran’s Imam Hossein Square on Tuesday before burial Thursday in the central city of Isfahan, his hometown, Sepah said.

On October 1, Iran fired some 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Nasrallah, Nilforoushan and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in late July.

Israel said it carried out the Beirut strike but did not comment on Haniyeh’s death in Tehran, where he had attended the inauguration of the Islamic Republic’s new president.

Israel has vowed to retaliate for the Iranian missile attack, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant saying the response would be “deadly, precise, and surprising.”

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/10/13/iran-iraq-to-stage-funerals-for-irgc-commander-killed-alongside-hezbollah-chief

 

[BouncerGuy]

Israel says it killed Nasrallah's heir apparent

The Israeli military say they killed the cleric tipped to succeed the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an air strike nearly three weeks ago.

Hashem Safieddine died in air strikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese Shia Muslim organisation fighting Israel, has not confirmed Safieddine's death.

Its previous leader, Nasrallah, was killed by an Israeli air strike on Beirut on 27 September.

After air strikes near the city's airport on 4 October, Hezbollah officials said they had lost contact with Safieddine, while US media cited Israeli officials as saying the cleric had been the target of the bombing.

Huge blasts shook the city that night, leaving plumes of smoke that could still be seen into the morning.

On Tuesday, the IDF issued a statement saying Safieddine had been killed along with Ali Hussein Hazima, described as commander of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters, in a strike on the organisation's main intelligence headquarters in Beirut.

It accused Safieddine of directing "terrorist attacks against the State of Israel" for years, as well as taking part in Hezbollah's "central decision-making processes".

Hezbollah is a military, political and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel as well as the US, the UK and other countries.

Safieddine himself was designated a "global terrorist" by the US and Saudi Arabia in 2017.

A cousin of Nasrallah, he took religious studies in Iran and his son was married to a daughter of Gen Qasem Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander, who was killed in a 2020 US air strike in Iraq.

He is believed to have been aged about 60 at the time of his reported death.

In a speech given in Beirut this summer, Safieddine described how Hezbollah viewed its leadership succession.

"In our resistance, when any leader is martyred, another takes up the flag and goes on with new, certain, strong determination," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks.

Over the past year, at least 2,464 Lebanese people have been killed and nearly 12,000 injured, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Hezbollah has attacked Israel with thousands of rockets and drones over the same period, and at least 59 people have been killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, Reuters news agency reports.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Hezbollah announces Naim Qassem as new leader

Hezbollah has announced the group’s deputy secretary general will become its new head.

Naim Qassem replaces long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut last month.

He is one of the few senior Hezbollah leaders who remains alive, after Israel killed most of the group’s leadership in a series of attacks.

The appointment comes as the conflict in Lebanon intensified in recent weeks.

For more than 30 years, Naim Qassem was Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general and one of the group's most recognised faces.

Hezbollah said he was elected by the Shura Council, in accordance with the group’s rules. His whereabouts are unclear, however some reports suggest he has fled to Iran, which is Hezbollah’s main supporter.

Announcing Qassem's promotion, Hezbollah released a statement describing him as "bearing the blessed banner in this march".

The statement also honoured the late Nasrallah and others killed in the conflict.

The new Hezbollah leadership was expected to be passed to cleric Hashem Safieddine, but on 22 October it was revealed that he had been killed in an Israeli air strike nearly three weeks prior.

Israel has carried out air strikes across Lebanon in recent weeks, targeting what it says are Hezbollah's operatives, infrastructure and weapons.

On Monday night, the Israeli military carried out air strikes in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, an area where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

The Lebanese health ministry said at least 60 people were killed and more than 50 wounded.

The Israeli military has yet to comment on the attack.

Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks.

Over the past year, more than 2,700 people have been killed and nearly 12,500 injured in Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry.

Hezbollah has attacked Israel with thousands of rockets and drones over the same period, and at least 59 people have been killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.

BBC