A Hezbollah source says contact with top figure Saffieddin has been “lost.”

File photo of Hashem Safiedin. | Photo: AFP

A senior Hezbollah source said on Saturday (5 October 2024) that contact with Hashem Safiedinwidely touted as potentially the group’s next leader, was lost following Israeli strikes this week.

“Contact with Sayyed Safieddine was lost following the violent strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut” early Friday (Oct 4, 2024), the official said AFP.

“We don’t know if he was at the target location or who might have been there with him,” he added.

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A second source close to Hezbollah also confirmed that communication with Safieddine had been cut and that his whereabouts were unknown.

Hezbollah “is trying to reach the underground plants that have been targeted, but each time Israel starts striking again to prevent rescue efforts,” he said.

Saffieddin “was with Hezbollah’s intelligence chief” known as Hajj Murtada when the strikes were carried out, he said.

Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Early on Friday, a source close to Hezbollah said Israel had carried out 11 consecutive strikes on the group’s stronghold in south Beirut, in one of the most powerful assaults since Israel stepped up its bombing campaign last week.

AFP footage showed giant fireballs and thick smoke rising from the site that had been attacked.

The Israeli military said it struck “targets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut.”

The attack came a week after the Israeli military said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in air strikes on the group’s headquarters in south Beirut.