Tel Aviv [Israel], October 10: The US and Israeli leaders had a phone call in the context of Tel Aviv's announcement that it had eliminated the successors of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who died in an airstrike on September 27.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on October 8 that he had ruled out Nasrallah's replacements, but did not name them, according to The Times of Israel.
Hezbollah lost 2 future leaders?
In a pre-recorded video clip, Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted: "We have weakened Hezbollah 's capabilities . We have killed thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and his successor, as well as his successor's replacement."
The names of the two men Netanyahu was referring to were not immediately clear, but Reuters earlier quoted a Hezbollah official as saying Israel had obstructed search and rescue efforts in the area where Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to Nasrallah, was believed to be in the area hit by a barrage of Israeli airstrikes on the southern outskirts of Beirut on October 3.
It is unclear who the second figure was that Mr Netanyahu referred to with the phrase "the successor of the successor". The Israeli Prime Minister also advised the Lebanese people to find a way to overthrow Hezbollah to avoid the prospect of falling into "the abyss of destruction and suffering that is happening in Gaza", according to the BBC.
While not commenting on the information, Hezbollah announced yesterday that it had launched mortar and rocket attacks on Israeli military targets near the border village of Labbouneh. On the same day, Hezbollah also said it had repelled an attempt to infiltrate its territory from Israel .
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israeli Air Force said yesterday that it had attacked 185 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon within 24 hours. Meanwhile, the infantry continued to clash with Hezbollah gunmen in the south of the country.
Risk of conflict escalation
Amid rising tensions in the region, US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke by phone on October 9 and discussed Israel's response plan to Iran's attack on October 1. According to informed sources, the US told Israel directly that attacking Iran's nuclear facilities is unacceptable.
Tehran also warned Arab countries yesterday not to allow foreign powers to use their airspace or military bases for attacks on Iran. On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi traveled to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to continue discussions on the escalating developments in the region.
For his part, Hezbollah Deputy Leader Naim Qassem on October 8 voiced his support for efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon, according to CNN . This statement marked the first time Hezbollah supported a ceasefire without the condition that Israel must end the conflict in Gaza.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper