Hezbollah confirmed that a top official widely expected to be the militant group’s next leader had been killed in one of the attacks.
Israeli jets struck multiple buildings in Lebanon’s southern coastal city of Tyre on Wednesday, sending up large clouds of black smoke, while Hezbollah confirmed that a top official widely expected to be the militant group’s next leader had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the nearby town of Maarakeh killed three people. There were no reports of casualties in Tyre, where the Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings prior to the strikes.
Hezbollah meanwhile fired more rockets into Israel, including two that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv before being intercepted. A cloud of smoke could be seen in the sky from the hotel where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was staying on his latest visit to the region to try to renew cease-fire talks.
On Wednesday night, the Israeli military said another four “projectiles” crossed from Lebanon into Israel, with two intercepted and one falling in open land. There were no immediate reports of injuries, the military said.
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Hezbollah confirmed that top official Hashem Safieddine had been killed in an announcement one day after Israel said it had killed him in a strike earlier this month in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Safieddine, a powerful cleric within the party ranks, had been expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.
Hezbollah said Safieddine had “joined his brother, our most noble and precious martyr,” Nasrallah.
The militant group began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes, after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack from Gaza triggered the war there. All-out war erupted in Lebanon last month, and Israeli strikes killed Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October.
Tyre, a provincial capital, had largely been spared, but strikes in and around the city have intensified recently.
The 2,500-year-old city, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut, is known for its pristine beaches, ancient harbor and imposing Roman ruins and hippodrome, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is among Lebanon’s largest cities and a vibrant metropolis popular with tourists.
The buildings struck Wednesday were between several heritage sites, including the hippodrome and a cluster of seaside sites associated with the ancient Phoenicians and the Crusaders.
