Hezbollah source says contact lost with potential next leader Hashem Safieddine

A high-level Hezbollah source said Saturday that contact with Hashem Safieddine, widely touted as potentially the group's next leader, had been lost following “Israeli” strikes this week.

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"Contact with Sayyed Safieddine has been lost since the violent strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs" early Friday, the source told Agence France-Presse (AFP), requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The Hezbollah source added: "We don't know if he was at the targeted site, or who may have been there with him."

A second source close to Hezbollah also confirmed to AFP 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.

Safieddine "was with Hezbollah's head of intelligence," known as Hajj Murtada, when the strikes took place, he said.

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Friday morning, “Israel” conducted 11 consecutive strikes on the group's south Beirut stronghold, in one of the most powerful raids since “Israel” intensified its campaign of bombardment last week.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) said it had hit "targets belonging to Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut".

The attack came a week after Hezbollah said its long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in air strikes on the group's headquarters in south Beirut.