Israel's Gallant says it appears Nasrallah's replacement has been eliminated

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that it appears that the replacement of slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been eliminated.

Hashem Safieddine, a top Hezbollah official widely expected to succeed Nasrallah, "was with Hezbollah's head of intelligence," known as Hajj Murtada, when the Israeli strikes took place, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP earlier.

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Hezbollah was "trying to reach the underground headquarters that were targeted, but every single time Israel starts striking again to impede rescue efforts," the source also confirmed to AFP earlier.

Earlier, on Monday, a government spokesperson said that Israel does not have confirmation that Hashem Safieddine, the potential successor to the slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has died, following reports that he was targeted in an Israeli air strike last week.

(With inputs from AFP)

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