One of Iran’s top military commanders is believed to have been killed in an Israeli strike targeting the new leader of the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force – the elite wing of the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – was reported to be with new Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine, who was attacked in his headquarters bunker in Beirut. by the Israelis.
Thursday night’s airstrike during heavy shelling of southern Beirut was organized while Safieddine was holding a secret meeting with other Hezbollah leaders at the clandestine intelligence headquarters.
He had just replaced Hassan Nasrallah, killed by the Israelis last month.
Last night, Arabic and English media in the Middle East reported that Safieddine was most likely dead.
Esmail Qaani (pictured), head of the Quds Force, the elite wing of the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), may also have been at the meeting.
Arabic and English media in the Middle East reported that Safieddine (pictured) is most likely dead.
Thursday night’s airstrike during heavy shelling of southern Beirut was organized while Safieddine was holding a secret meeting with other Hezbollah leaders. (Flames arise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon)
A massive explosion erupted in Beirut’s southern suburbs, just north of the airport, during an Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s heir apparent.
A photographer runs for cover as smoke rises in the background after an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, October 4, 2024.
Lebanese sources told Sky News Arabia that all contact with him has been lost. The Israeli military has not officially confirmed his death. But it has now emerged that Qaani may also have been at the meeting. Some Israeli media reported that Qaani was injured, while others claimed he may have died.
That would represent a surprising blow to the Israelis, who vowed to hit back after Iran’s missile attack last week. Experts say Qaani’s death would severely weaken Iran’s military capabilities, but also further inflame tensions in the growing conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting after the Jewish New Year, did not refer to Qaani’s death. He said Israel was fighting a war on “seven fronts” but gave no indication of when it would attack Iran.
He criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to boycott arms sales to Israel to bring it to the negotiating table.
Mr Netanyahu said: “Is Iran imposing an arms embargo on Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas and their other proxies?
‘Of course not. What a shame! “Israel will win with or without your support.”
The attack on Safieddine and Qaani occurred in Dahieh, a southern Beirut suburb that is a Hezbollah stronghold. It has been heavily bombed by the Israeli Air Force since it began its attack on Hezbollah.
Lebanese sources said it was difficult to establish whether Qaani or Safieddine were alive or dead because it was impossible to approach the bombed site of the bunker due to drone strikes.
Israeli soldiers are seen entering rural areas of southern Lebanon ahead of an assault on Hezbollah positions.
The attack on Safieddine and Qaani occurred in Dahieh, a southern Beirut suburb that is a Hezbollah stronghold. (An Israeli tank is seen advancing towards southern Lebanon)
Several buildings were destroyed in the assault, and the scale of devastation surpassed that of the attack that killed Nasrallah, the sources said.
Qaani, 67, succeeded Qassem Soleimani as leader of the Quds Force after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020.
As Ayatollah Khameini’s right-hand man, Qaani would have been one of the key figures behind the missile attacks against Israel last week and in April.
He would also be the Tehran regime’s main contact with Hezbollah, as well as other terrorist groups that are proxies for Iran, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Iraqi militias.
If Qaani is dead, it would be a serious blow to Iran just before a planned Israeli attack in response to the missile barrage fired at Israel on October 1.
However, Iranian media denied that Qaani was dead.
Macron said yesterday that arms shipments to Israel should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution to the crisis.
‘I think the priority is to return to a political solution (and) to stop the weapons used to fight in Gaza. “France is not sending anything,” Macron told France Inter radio. Last month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK was suspending 30 of 350 arms export licenses for Israel.