Israel can’t confirm death of Hezbollah’s Safieddine, spokesperson says

A high-level Hezbollah source said on October 5, 2024 that contact with Hashem Safieddine, widely touted as potentially the group’s next leader, had been lost following Israeli strikes this week. (AFP)
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Updated 07 October 2024
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Israel can’t confirm death of Hezbollah’s Safieddine, spokesperson says

  • Asked if Israel could confirm the death of Hashem Safieddine, spokesperson David Mencer said: “We don’t have that confirmation yet”

JERUSALEM: Israel cannot confirm whether the potential successor to the slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, a government spokesperson said on Monday, following reports that he was targeted in an Israeli air strike last week.
Asked if Israel could confirm the death of Hashem Safieddine, spokesperson David Mencer told an online briefing: “We don’t have that confirmation yet. When it is confirmed, as and when, it will be on the IDF (Israeli military) website.”
A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Sunday that Israel was obstructing search and rescue efforts in an area where Safieddine is thought to have been when Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday.
Israel has killed much of Hezbollah’s military command and senior leadership in nearly a year of fighting that began when Hezbollah opened a front in solidarity with Palestinians the day after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.


Trump warns Iran not to escalate attacks, saying US will strike back with force

Updated 01 March 2026
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Trump warns Iran not to escalate attacks, saying US will strike back with force

  • Trump’s comments follow Iranian threats on Sunday morning after acknowledging the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

DUBAI: US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday not to escalate its attacks, writing online that America will strike back ‘WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
Trump’s comments on Truth Social follow Iranian threats on Sunday morning after acknowledging the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump wrote. “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Iran’s parliament speaker on Sunday called the leaders of the United States and Israel “filthy criminals” who will face “devastating blows” for their ongoing attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comment in a televised address.
Qalibaf is the highest-ranking official to appear on camera since the attacks began Saturday.
“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” he said. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”