Who was Hashem Safieddine - touted to become Hezbollah's next leader?
Hassan Nasrallah's cousin Hashem Safieddine was among the frontrunners to replace the killed Hezbollah leader.
Wednesday 23 October 2024 17:03, UK
Hezbollah has confirmed the killing of one of its top officials Hashem Safieddine, who had been widely expected to be the militant group's next leader.
Its previous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, 64, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut in September.
Nasrallah had been at the helm of the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based militant group for 32 years, and Safieddine was his younger cousin.
Following claims by Israel on Tuesday that Safieddine had been killed, Hezbollah confirmed today the "great leader and great martyr" had died.
Safieddine was born in the southern Lebanese village of Deir Qanoun En Nahr near Tyre in 1960.
The young men studied theology together at two Shia institutions - one in Najaf, Iraq and the other in Qom, Iran.
Their supporters considered them to be from a well-respected Shia family that has produced both religious scholars and Lebanese politicians.
Safieddine's brother was Hezbollah's representative to Iran, while his son was married to the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed in a US drone strike during Donald Trump's presidency in 2020.
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Like his cousin, Safieddine joined Hezbollah soon after it was set up in the early 1980s.
He also wore a black turban, as Nasrallah did, denoting being a direct descendant from the Prophet Muhammad.
Before his death, experts said Safieddine's family ties and close resemblance to his late cousin would likely help his leadership bid.
He was already the head of Hezbollah's Jihad council and among the top members of its Shura council.
Known for his militant views, he was in charge of the group's political affairs.
At a recent event in Dahieh, the Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital, that has borne the brunt of Israeli strikes, and where his cousin was killed, Safieddine said in support of Hamas in Gaza: "Our history, our guns and our rockets are with you."
And at a funeral of one of his fellow commanders in June he appeared to threaten further escalation of the conflict with Israel, declaring: "Let [the enemy] prepare himself to cry and wail."
The US designated Safieddine a terrorist in 2017. Saudi Arabia also classified him as a terrorist.
He had always been a vocal critic of US policy, declaring that year: "This mentally impeded, crazy US administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance."