Israel confirms: Nasrallah’s successor died in Oct 4 strike, IDF kills top Hezbollah drone commander amid intense airstrikes

Three weeks after some of the war’s heaviest airstrikes collapsed a Hezbollah command bunker on him, Israel confirmed on Tuesday that Hashim Safi al-Din, the designated successor to Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, died on Oct 4 in Beirut's Dahiyeh district.

“We have reached Nasrallah, his successor and most of Hezbollah’s top brass. We will be able to reach anyone who threatens the security of the citizens of the State of Israel,” commented IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Along with Safi al-Din, who led the terror group’s executive council and was part of its High Command, some 25 other senior terrorists were killed in the strike that targeted “the main intelligence headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, located underground, in the heart of a civilian population,” the IDF stated.

כעת ניתן לאשר שבתקיפה לפני כשלושה שבועות חוסלו בדאחייה שבביירות האשם צפי אלדין, ראש המועצה המבצעת של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה וחסין עלי הזימה, ראש מטה המודיעין של חיזבאללה, לצד מפקדים נוספים בחיזבאללה>> pic.twitter.com/jIMDDq6gZV

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 22, 2024

Among them killed were Hussein Ali Hazima, head of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters; Bilal Saab Ayyash, head of aerial intelligence collection; and Mahmoud Muhammad Shahin, head of intelligence in Syria.

Despite Israeli officials announcing that Safi al-Din had most likely been killed, the final confirmation only came on Tuesday, when the bodies were retrieved from the ruins of the bunker dug deep underground.

Lebanese media had reported that in the immediate aftermath of the airstrike – which was described as even more powerful than the one that killed Nasrallah – Israeli drones hovered over the area firing warning shots at rescuers to prevent them from pulling any potential survivors from the collapsed bunker.

Safi al-Din “was Hassan Nasrallah’s cousin, and due to his family and personal closeness to Nasrallah, had a great influence on the organization's decision-making on a variety of issues and at times when Nasrallah was absent from Lebanon, filled his place and served as Hezbollah’s secretary general. Over the years, Safi al-Din directed terror acts against Israel and took part in the core of Hezbollah's decision-making,” the IDF said.

“The IDF will continue to target Hezbollah officials and terrorists and anyone who poses a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” the military said.

Just hours later, the Israeli military announced the elimination of another of Hezbollah’s top commanders.

On Tuesday, fighter jets struck and killed Khalil Muhammad Amhaz, “a terrorist in the aerial unit (Unit 127) of the terror organization Hezbollah, who served as a central source of knowledge in the unit, in the Hermel region.”

Unit 127 is responsible for launching suicide and intelligence drones toward Israel.

“The Air Force attacked dozens of terrorist targets of this unit in the last month,” the IDF added.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון תקפו במהלך היום במרחב אלחוש שבדרום לבנון כעשרה מתחמי פיקוד ושליטה של יחידות צבאיות שונות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בהן מפקדות של ׳כוח רדואן׳.
ממתחמים אלו קידם ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה פעילות טרור נגד אזרחי ישראל וכוחות צה״ל>> pic.twitter.com/74ybMCHWK1

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 22, 2024

As a result of other Israeli airstrikes, around 10 command-and-control compounds of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in al-Hosh were hit after the IDF had called on citizens to evacuate the area.

“For a long time now, the terror organization Hezbollah has been systematically taking over civil and religious spaces throughout the state of Lebanon in order to carry out terrorist activities, this harms and endangers the citizens of the state of Lebanon,” the IDF said.

Later Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force destroyed additional weapon and munitions depots in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, Hezbollah’s most important stronghold in the country.

Overnight, additional strikes targeted weapons production and storage sites hidden in civilian homes in Dahiyeh.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו במהלך הלילה, בהכוונה מודיעינית מדויקת של אגף המודיעין, מספר אתרים לייצור ולאחסון אמצעי לחימה ומפקדות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, אשר מוקמו בתוך בניינים אזרחיים בדאחייה שבביירות>> pic.twitter.com/kFcjKaBP6n

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 23, 2024

Footage released by the IDF showed large apartment buildings being destroyed in the strikes.

“This attack is another part of the ongoing effort to damage the weapons warehouses in the Beirut area of ​​the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which are located in the heart of the civilian population, and pose a continuous risk to the population,” the IDF stated.

#عاجل بيان عاجل لسكان منطقة صور في لبنان
⭕️الانذار موجهة تحديدًا إلى المتواجدون في المباني بين الشوارع: الحيرام, جعفر شرف الدين, أبو ديب و شارع الاثار

⭕️أنشطة حزب الله تجبر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده وبقوة حيث لا تنوي المساس بكم

⭕️عليكم بالأبتعاد فوراً الى خارج المنطقة المحددة… pic.twitter.com/5ngkUehGJm

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 23, 2024

The IDF's aerial campaign shows no signs of slowing down at the moment, as it resumed regular strikes in Beirut.

On Wednesday morning, the IDF issued another evacuation notice for an area in the city of Tyre before destroying Hezbollah sites in the location.