Israel says it killed the successors of the slain Hezbollah leader

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday Israeli air strikes had killed two successors of Hezbollah’s slain leader, as Israel expanded its ground offensive against the Iran-backed group with a fourth army division in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu made the comments in a video released by his office after the deputy leader of Hezbollah, which is reeling after a spate of killings of senior commanders in Israeli airstrikes, left the door open to a negotiated ceasefire.

“We have weakened Hezbollah’s capabilities. We have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including (Hassan) Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah’s successor and the successor’s successor,” Netanyahu said, without naming the latter two.

Later, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israel knew that Safieddine was at Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters when warplanes bombed it last week and that Safieddine’s status was “under review and when we know, we will inform the public.”

Safieddine has not been heard from publicly since that airstrike, part of an escalating Israeli offensive after a year of border conflicts with Hezbollah. The group is the most heavily armed Iranian proxy force in the Middle East and supports Palestinian militants fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.

“Today Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many, many years,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that heavy airstrikes on underground Hezbollah facilities in southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours had killed at least 50 fighters, including six sector commanders and regional officials.

Western powers are seeking a diplomatic solution because they fear the conflict could throw the entire oil-producing Middle East into turmoil.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that Gallant would not go ahead with his visit to Washington and a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin.

For the first time, the end of the Gaza war was not mentioned as a prerequisite for cessation of fighting in Lebanon. Qassem said Hezbollah supported moves by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to ensure an end to the fighting.

Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on Qassem’s comments. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a briefing in Washington that Hezbollah had “changed its tune and wanted a ceasefire” because the group was “lagging behind and being beaten” on the battlefield.

Qassem said Hezbollah’s capabilities remained intact despite “painful blows” from Israel. “Dozens of cities are within range of the resistance’s missiles. We assure you that our skills are fine.”

FOURTH ISRAELI ARMY DIVISION IN LEBANON

The Israeli military said it had sent the 146th Division to southern Lebanon, the first reserve division to be deployed across the border, and was expanding ground operations against Hezbollah from southeast Lebanon to the southwest.

A military spokesman declined to say how many troops were in Lebanon at any one time. But the military had previously said that three other army divisions were operating there, meaning there were likely thousands of soldiers on Lebanese soil.

The Israeli military announced on October 1 that ground troops had entered Lebanon, initially with commando units, then followed by regular armored units and infantry units.

Overnight, Israel again bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has its headquarters, and said it had killed a person in charge of budgeting and logistics, Suhail Hussein Husseini – the latest in a series of killings of some top Hezbollah officials .

The Israeli military issued a new evacuation warning on Tuesday for residents, particularly for certain buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has its headquarters.

Warning sirens sounded regularly throughout Tuesday in northern Israel, not far from the Lebanese border, as Hezbollah fired nearly 200 rockets into Israel, according to authorities.

An Israeli military spokesman said more than 3,000 rockets had been fired from Lebanon into Israel so far in October, but interception by air defenses had prevented many casualties and significant damage.

The targets on Tuesday again included Haifa, the northern port city, where there were multiple reports of damage to buildings from rocket debris. The Israeli military said it hit the launchers that fired the rockets at Haifa.

Israel’s stated goal is to protect its northern areas from Hezbollah rocket fire and allow thousands of displaced people to return.

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