Hezbollah has confirmed that Hashem Safieddine, a strongman who rose through the ranks of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah over decades to become the second-most powerful person within the organization, has died. Safieddine, who was about 60, was killed in early October in a series of Israeli airstrikes in a southern suburb of Beirut that shook much of the Lebanese capital. Israel said Tuesday that Safieddine had been killed in the strikes; Hezbollah confirmed the death Wednesday, reports the AP. Safieddine's death came as he was widely expected to be elected the group's next leader after the death of Hassan Nasrallah, one of its founders.
Safieddine, Nasrallah's maternal cousin, had spent years preparing for the position—but the announcement was slow in coming following the Sept. 27 airstrike in the Beirut suburbs that killed Nasrallah. A black-turbaned cleric with a thick gray beard who bore a strong resemblance to Nasrallah, Safieddine was known for defiant speeches in which he vowed that Hezbollah would keep fighting Israel no matter the price.
Despite the lack of formal announcement following Nasrallah's death, it was widely known that Safieddine was already in control and running the group's affairs, though the official acting leader was his deputy, Naim Kassem. It's not clear who will end up taking Hezbollah's top job now, especially since another leading candidate, Nabil Kaouk, was also killed in an Israeli strike hours after Nasrallah's death. During a funeral in a Beirut suburb last month for Hezbollah members who were killed in the exploding pagers attack, Safieddine vowed that Hezbollah would not bow down and would fight back. "This aggression will definitely face its special punishment. This punishment is definitely coming," Safieddine said.
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