Lebanon's Hezbollah accepted the resignation of senior security official Wafiq Safa on Friday, the first time an official of his rank has stepped down, sources familiar with the group's thinking told Reuters.
Wafiq Safa © Ici Beyrouth
Lebanon's Hezbollah accepted the resignation of senior security official Wafiq Safa on Friday, the first time an official of his rank has stepped down, sources familiar with the group's thinking told Reuters.
Safa, who heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, survived an Israeli assassination attempt in October 2024.
The sources said Safa had submitted his resignation some time ago, but the group's leadership accepted it on Friday after he insisted on his decision. They did not give a reason for his resignation.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in 2024 to end more than a year of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, which had culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations.
Lebanon has faced growing pressure from the U.S. and Israel to disarm Hezbollah, and its leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country to push Lebanon's leaders to confiscate Hezbollah's arsenal more quickly.
Hezbollah has fought numerous conflicts with Israel since it was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982. It kept its arms after the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, using them against Israeli troops who occupied the south until 2000.
Safa, whom Middle East media reports said was born in 1960, oversaw negotiations that led to a 2008 deal in which Hezbollah exchanged the bodies of Israeli soldiers captured in 2006 for Lebanese prisoners in Israel. The 2006 incident triggered a 34-day war with Israel.
Reporting by Laila Bassam
Lebanon's government on Monday banned military activities by Hezbollah after it opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader - a move likely to fuel tension with the Tehran-backed group as it faced a new Israeli offensive.
For years, Hezbollah has sought to portray itself as a Lebanese “resistance” movement with domestic political legitimacy. But recent events suggest that distinction is increasingly difficult to sustain.
Hezbollah attacked Israel on Monday to avenge the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, prompting Israeli strikes on Beirut and setting the group at odds with Lebanese leaders who want the country kept out of a regional war.
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