Hashem Safieddinea prominent figure in the Hezbollah whose death was confirmed this Tuesday 22 by the Israeli Army, was considered a possible successor to his cousin Hassan Nasrallah – also killed by Israel – in the leadership of the Islamist movement.
Hezbollah has not confirmed his death, but a leader of the group told AFP that they lost contact with Safieddine following the October 4 Israeli bombings directed against him on the outskirts of Beirut.
A second source from Hezbollah – which is also a political party – confirmed that they were trying to “access the headquarters that was attacked”, but that “Israel systematically carries out new bombings, to hamper the efforts of rescue teams”.
With a gray beard, glasses and the black turban of the Prophet Muhammad’s descendants, Safieddine bore a striking physical resemblance to his cousin but was a few years younger. His age was estimated to be around 60 years old.
Safieddine described himself as the “most likely candidate” to succeed Nasrallah as leader of the Shiite movement, financed and armed by Tehran. He had close ties with Iran, where he completed his religious studies, and his son is married to the daughter of powerful Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who died in 2020, in a US bombing raid in Iraq.
Safieddine was one of the most important members of the Shura Council and was classified as a terrorist by the US State Department and Saudi Arabia.
After Nasrallah’s death, the movement’s number two, Naim Qasem, took charge and announced that a definitive successor would soon be elected by the seven-member Shura Council.
Authority
Unlike Nasrallah, who had barely been seen in public since the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, Safieddine was the face of the movement in various political and religious events. Although he had a calm temperament, he raised his tone at the funerals of commanders murdered by Israel.
“In our resistance, when one commander becomes a martyr, another takes up the flag with strength and determination,” declared Safieddine at the funeral of commander Mohamed Neemeh Naser, killed in Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon.
Cardiff University expert Amal Saad describes Safieddine as someone with “a lot of authority”, which made him “the strongest candidate for succession”.
Hezbollah was created in 1982, during the civil war in Lebanon and the invasion of Israel, on the initiative of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. After the conflict, Hezbollah was the only faction to maintain weapons, in the name of “resistance” against Israel.
For years, Nasrallah was considered the most powerful man in Lebanon, but the movement has lost strength in recent months due to heavy blows from Israel, which eliminated its leaders and attacked its facilities.
