Sky News Arabia sources reported that the target in the Israeli raid was the head of the Executive Council of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hashem Safi al-Din, in what was considered one of the most violent strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Safi al-Din is considered the candidate to succeed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in an Israeli raid on October 27.
Media sources reported that the Israeli army targeted a meeting in the southern suburb of Beirut, which included leaders from Hezbollah and other Iranians.
Israeli Channel 12 confirmed that the “unusual” attacks in the suburb were aimed at “Nasrallah’s successor.”
She added: “The Israeli army forcefully attacked the southern suburb of Beirut after it called for the evacuation of many buildings in the area,” noting that it “used tens of tons of bombs, some of which penetrated the bunkers.”
The channel revealed that “the prominent Hezbollah official and the target of the attacks, Hashem Safi al-Din, was in a hideout, and it is not yet known whether he was killed” in the attack.
These details indicate the similarity of this attack to another that occurred about a week ago, also in the southern suburb, in which Nasrallah was killed.
A source close to Hezbollah indicated that the number of successive raids reached 11, noting that they caused a loud sound that shook buildings, and whose echo, according to eyewitnesses, reached areas outside Beirut and its suburbs.
Footage showed huge balls of flame rising from the targeted site, with clouds of thick smoke rising.
Since mid-September, Israel has intensified its strikes against Hezbollah, and the bombing since September 23 has led to the death of more than a thousand people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands from their homes, according to official Lebanese figures.
On Monday, Israel announced that it had begun a ground operation in southern Lebanon, which has not resulted in significant field progress so far.
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