In the Mreijeh district, in Beirut's southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, Oct. 4, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Here are five things to know about what happened this Saturday:
1- "Contact has been lost" with Hashem Safieddine, the chairman of Hezbollah's Executive Council and Nasrallah's expected successor after he was targeted in violent Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday night.
2 - A Israeli strike targeted a residential building in Jiyyeh killing at least three people and injuring eight others, according to an initial report relayed by our correspondent.
3 - For the first time, the Israeli army struck the Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi in northern Lebanon, killing a Hamas commander and his family in the raid.
4 - Hezbollah intensified its strikes on northern Israel on Saturday, with fighting continuing throughout the day, and infiltration of Israeli troops reported in Maroun al-Ras on Friday (Bint Jbeil).
5- Beirut's southern suburbs were targeted multiple times throughout the day on Saturday.
The Fate of Hashem Safieddine
"Contact with Sayyed Safieddine has been lost since the violent strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs ... We don't know if he was at the targeted site, or who may have been there with him," on Thursday night, a Hezbollah official told AFP on the condition of anonymity. Safieddine was widely expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah.
A second source close to Hezbollah also confirmed that communication had been cut off with Safieddine and that his whereabouts were unknown. Hezbollah "is trying to reach the underground headquarters that were targeted, but every single time Israel starts striking again to impede rescue efforts," he said.
According to the second source, Safieddine "was with Hezbollah's head of intelligence," known as Hajj Murtada. Israeli sources told Sky News Safieddine was dead.
Hezbollah released a statement on Saturday saying: "Reports are circulating, citing so-called 'sources within Hezbollah,' regarding the fate of Hezbollah officials after the recent savage attacks on the southern suburbs, including those reported by AFP. We want to reaffirm that there are no 'sources' within Hezbollah, and our official positions are communicated solely through press office statements," Hezbollah said in a statement.
The statement further denounced "other false information and rumors circulating about the party's leadership," claiming they contribute to the "psychological and moral war."
Strike on Jiyeh
An Israeli strike targeted a residential building in Jiyyeh on Saturday evening killing at least three people and injuring eight others, according to an initial report relayed by our correspondent.
Bombardment in Beirut's southern suburbs continues
The Israeli army struck the southern suburbs of Beirut multiple times on Saturday.
According to the National News Agency (NNA), 12 strikes had hit the area overnight, targeting buildings near the Qa’em Mosque in Burj al-Barajneh, close to the Sayyed al-Shuhada complex in Haret Hreik, in Roueiss and further south in Choueifat.
Renewed clashes at the Lebanese-Israeli border
On Saturday, three people sustained minor injuries when a rocket launched from Lebanon struck a building in Deir al-Asad in northern Israel, according to Haaretz. The Israeli media added, citing the police, "there are additional reports of rocket hits in the area," stating that "Route 90 has been closed to traffic in the area surrounding Agamon-Hula due to a suspicious object being found."
Hezbollah also claimed to have bombed the Ramat David airbase southeast of Haifa with "Fadi-1" missiles at 10:30 a.m. The base is located about 45 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
The Israeli air force said Saturday morning that it had targeted Hezbollah members overnight who were “operating from a headquarters established in a mosque near Salah Ghandour Hospital” in southern Lebanon. “This HQ was used by terrorists to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces and Israel,” the army said on X.
On Saturday, the army continued its incessant strikes on southern Lebanon.
Targeted Strike on Hamas Commander in Beddawi, North Lebanon
Hamas announced on Saturday that one of its commanders and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli in northern Lebanon. Said Attallah Ali, his wife, and two of his daughters died in the strike on the Beddawi camp, in the Minyeh-Dinnieh district, according to a Hamas statement.
This is the first Israeli bombardment targeting the area since the attrition war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel began on October 8, 2023. Over the past weeks, the Israeli army has intensified strikes against Palestinian officials in Lebanon.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, also confirmed the "martyrdom" of Said Attallah, along with the death of fighter Mohammad Hussein Loueiss, who was killed in a strike in Saadnayel in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Saadnayel, Rafid: Bekaa Under Fire
An Israeli airstrike targeted the town of Saadnayel in central Bekaa, according to several local media outlets. The local news channel, al-Jadeed, reported that the strike killed one person and injured several others.
Additionally, a leader of Jamaa Islamiya, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, was injured in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Rafid, in western Bekaa, according to our correspondent in the region.
On the Diplomatic Front
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for calling for a halt to arms supplies to Israel. He stated:
"Israel fights the forces of barbarism ... Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them."
- In Syria, Iran's foreign minister has called for a cease-fire in Lebanon and Gaza.
- Biden told reporters at the White House that he is working to "mobilize the rest of the world" for peace in the Middle East. He also suggested that Israel should "consider other options" besides striking oil sites in Iran, after acknowledging the day before that this possibility was "under discussion." Israel plans to retaliate for the more than 200 missiles launched by Tehran on Thursday night against Tel Aviv, in response to the assassinations of the head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Abbas Nilforoushan.
- Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein stated on X that "the U.S. did not 'green light' military operations in Lebanon," denouncing the "wrong, irresponsible" information circulating in the media in recent days.
"Ultimately, only a diplomatic resolution will allow residents to return home. We continue to work w[ith] governments of Israel & Lebanon on best path to restore calm," he added.