Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, joined Hezbollah soon after the group was formed and rose quickly in its ranks.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had weeks ago killed Hashem Safieddine, the presumed successor to Hezbollah’s recently assassinated leader, in an airstrike near Beirut, Lebanon.
Speculation about Mr. Safieddine’s possible death had been swirling since Israeli warplanes unleashed strikes targeting a meeting of senior Hezbollah leadership early in October. It was one of the heaviest bombardments to hit the area, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiya, since an Israeli assault killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Sept. 27.
Mr. Safieddine, a cousin of Mr. Nasrallah and one of Hezbollah’s top officials, was presumed to be at that meeting.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said Mr. Safieddine was killed in a strike about three weeks ago. Mr. Safieddine had a significant influence over Hezbollah and served as the group’s leader when his cousin, Mr. Nasrallah, was not in Lebanon, according to a statement from the Israeli military.
“Throughout the years, Safieddine directed terrorist attacks against the state of Israel and took part in Hezbollah’s central decision-making processes,” the statement said, adding that more than 25 Hezbollah operatives were present at the meeting where the military struck and killed Mr. Safieddine.
The Israeli military did not provide any proof for its assertion that Mr. Safieddine was dead.
Hezbollah has generally avoided commenting on his fate in the weeks since the strike. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
