'Fear, panic & flight' among Hezbollah: Israel killed Nasrallah, ‘his successor and his successor’s successor,’ PM Netanyahu says

Israel has killed Hashem Safi al-Din, the designated successor of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, both Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed on Tuesday.

Netanyahu’s comments came as part of a video message to the Lebanese people, calling on them to use the opportunity provided by the destruction of Hezbollah at the hands of Israel, and “take back” their country.

“Do you remember when your country was called the pearl of the Middle East? I do. So, what happened to Lebanon? A gang of tyrants and terrorists destroyed it,” Netanyahu began.

Stressing that Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon 25 years ago, he pointed out that the country has since been taken over by Iran and its proxy Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a stockpile of ammunition and weapons and a forward Iranian military base. Just one day after the October 7th massacre a year ago, Hezbollah joined the war against Israel… It has since fired over 8,000 missiles at Israel, killing civilians without distinction.”

“Israel has decided to put an end to this… We have degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and the replacement of his replacement. Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many, many years,” he emphasized.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike some two weeks ago, while his heir apparent and cousin, Hashem Safi al-Din, shared the same fate around a week later. In addition, the IDF has taken out large parts of Hezbollah’s military and political leadership over the past weeks.

During a visit to the IDF’s Northern Command, Gallant echoed Netanyahu’s description of Hezbollah’s sorry state. “Hezbollah is an organization without a leader, Nasrallah was eliminated, and his successor was probably also eliminated,” he said.

“There is no one to make decisions, no one to act, and the fire array that Hezbollah built over the years with a huge Iranian investment has reached a level that today's Hezbollah is similar to what Hamas started with and maybe below that.”

Gallant said that within Hezbollah, “There is fear, there is panic, there is flight, there is an erosion of the Hezbollah organization which is of a different magnitude, this organization has never experienced anything like this.”

“The actions we are taking are observed all over the Middle East, when the smoke in Lebanon clears, in Iran they will realize that they have lost their most valuable asset - which is Hezbollah.”

“Hezbollah is a battered, broken organization, without command-and-control capabilities, without significant fire capabilities, with attempts to raise its head and above all without leadership at any level,” the defense minister said.

This situation gives the Lebanese people a rare opportunity “that hasn’t existed in decades. An opportunity to take care of the future of your children and grandchildren,” said Netanyahu.

“You can return it to a path of peace and prosperity. If you don’t, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense. It doesn't care if Lebanon is dragged into a wider war.”

“Today I ask every mother and every father in Lebanon a simple question: Is it worth it? Because it doesn't have to be that way. I know you want a better future for your children,” Netanyahu asserted.

“I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end. Free your country from Hezbollah so that your country can prosper again, so that future generations of Lebanese and Israeli children will know neither war nor bloodshed but will finally live together in peace.”