Israeli strike on Beirut targets senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine

An Israeli strike on Beirut targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on social media platform X early on Friday, citing an Israeli source.

Safieddine is the man widely regarded as the heir of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Here are some facts about Safieddine

* As head of the executive council, Safieddine oversees Hezbollah's political affairs. He also sits on the Jihad Council, which manages the group's military operations.

* Safieddine is a cousin of Nasrallah and like him is a cleric who wears the black turban denoting descent from Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

* The U.S. State Department designated him a terrorist in 2017 and in June he threatened a big escalation against Israel after the killing of another Hezbollah commander. "Let (the enemy) prepare himself to cry and wail," he said at the funeral.

* Safieddine's public statements often reflect Hezbollah's militant stance and its alignment with the Palestinian cause. 

At a recent event in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he declared, "Our history, our guns and our rockets are with you," in a show of solidarity with Palestinian fighters.

* Nasrallah "started tailoring positions for him within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah. Some of them were more opaque than others. They've had him come, go out and speak," said Phillip Smyth, an expert who studies Iran-backed Shi-ite militias.

* Safieddine's family ties and a physical resemblance to Nasrallah, as well as his religious status as a descendant of Mohammed, would all count in his favour. 

* He has also been vocal in his criticism of U.S. policy. In response to American pressure on Hezbollah, he stated in 2017, "This mentally impeded, crazy U.S. administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance," asserting that such actions would only strengthen Hezbollah's resolve.