Israel says it cannot confirm Nasrallah’s presumed successor death

Asked if Israel could confirm Safieddine’s death, Mencer told an online briefing: “We don’t have that confirmation yet. When it is confirmed, as and when, it will be on the [Israeli military] website.”

The comments come after the Israeli army earlier confirmed the attack targeted Safieddine – who is widely rumoured to be a potential successor to Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah was killed last month in an intense Israeli attack on Beirut.

Israel carried out a series of massive air attacks on Thursday and Friday in the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut, including the international airport’s perimeter.

Israeli media reported that the target of the attacks was Safieddine. The regime has repeatedly attacked southern Beirut neighbourhoods such as Dahiyeh, a stronghold of support for Hezbollah, since it escalated its conflict with the group.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,800 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

More than 2,000 people have been killed and about 9,500 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past weeks.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.