BEIRUT — The Israeli military says it killed the cleric tipped to succeed the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an air strike nearly three weeks ago.

Hashem Safieddine died in air strikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Hezbollah has not confirmed Safieddine's death.

Its previous leader, Nasrallah, was killed by an Israeli air strike on Beirut on 27 September.

After air strikes near the city's airport on 4 October, Hezbollah officials said they had lost contact with Safieddine, while US media cited Israeli officials as saying the cleric had been the target of the bombing.

Huge blasts shook the city that night, leaving plumes of smoke that could still be seen into the morning.

On Tuesday, the IDF issued a statement saying Safieddine had been killed along with Ali Hussein Hazima, described as commander of Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters, in a strike on the organization's main intelligence headquarters in Beirut.

It accused Safieddine of directing "terrorist attacks against the State of Israel" for years, as well as taking part in Hezbollah's "central decision-making processes".

Hezbollah is a military, political and social organization that wields considerable power in Lebanon.

Safieddine himself was designated a "global terrorist" by the US and Saudi Arabia in 2017.

A cousin of Nasrallah, he took religious studies in Iran and his son was married to a daughter of Gen Qasem Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander, who was killed in a 2020 US air strike in Iraq.

He is believed to have been aged about 60 at the time of his reported death.

In a speech given in Beirut this summer, Safieddine described how Hezbollah viewed its leadership succession.

"In our resistance, when any leader is martyred, another takes up the flag and goes on with new, certain, strong determination," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks.

Over the past year, at least 2,464 Lebanese people have been killed and nearly 12,000 injured, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Hezbollah has attacked Israel with thousands of rockets and drones over the same period, and at least 59 people have been killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, Reuters news agency reports. — BBC