This midnight the Israeli army launched one of its most powerful bombings in Dahiye, the Shiite suburb south of Beirut, where in recent weeks it killed the leader of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, and most of the military leadership. The explosions vibrated the windows even three kilometers from the target, with an intensity reminiscent of that of the assassination of Nasrallah, with bombs weighing up to one ton capable of penetrating underground bunkers. Shortly after, two Israeli sources told Axios that the target was Nasrallah’s foreseeable successor, Hashem Safieddine, who was supposedly meeting with other senior officials of the organization. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah have commented on the matter or reported on Safieddine’s condition.
Penetrated by the Israeli intelligence services, Hezbollah has not yet announced Nasrallah’s successor, nor a date for his burial. The number two of the Lebanese party-militia, Naim Qasem, assured last Monday – in a video recorded from an unknown location – that the appointment will be announced “as soon as possible.” Leader of the Executive Council, Safieddine is considered the main candidate (or the new leader, secretly): he is Nasrallah’s cousin, which reinforces the commitment to continuity that Qasem highlighted; He has been with the organization since its beginnings, in the 80s; and has a prominent political and spiritual role.
The routine is known: Israel killed 37 Lebanese in the bombings the day before and has urged civilians to abandon 36 other towns in the south. It has already done so with a hundred, most of which were already practically empty, because more than 100,000 people fled at the beginning of the clashes on the border, almost a year ago, and the offensive that began last month has pushed hundreds to flee. of thousands more.
The road to escape to Syria, useless
Another Israeli bombing this morning was not looking for any leader, but rather to render useless the road that hundreds of thousands of people have been using to escape to Syria. According to the Lebanese Minister of Transport, Ali Hamieh, the route has been rendered useless after the attack, near Masnaa, the main border post with Syria. It is estimated that more than 300,000 people have crossed into the neighboring country. The majority are refugees who are now escaping in the opposite direction.
Hours earlier, the spokesman for the Israeli Army in Arabic, Avijai Adree, broadcast for the first time a message pointing out that Masnaa “has become the main border crossing for Hezbollah’s arms transfers,” which tries to hide it among the transfer of civilians, and warning that the Israeli army destroyed “other crossings used for the same objective” in the past.
While the world awaits Israel’s response to Iran’s launch of nearly 200 missiles (the mere mention by US President Joe Biden that it may go against the oil industry sent the price of crude oil skyrocketing), the Iranian minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araqchi, landed this morning in Beirut, where he plans to meet with the Prime Minister, Nayib Mikati. “Everyone in the region must understand the serious situation facing Lebanon and its consequences for the future of our nations,” said ministerial spokesperson Ismail Baghaei. It is the first visit to the country by a senior Iranian official since Nasrallah’s death two weeks ago.
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