BEIRUT: Israel has said it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the heir apparent to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed last month in an Israeli attack targeting the Lebanese group, Reuters reports.

The military said Safieddine was killed in a strike carried out three weeks ago in Beirut’s southern suburbs, its first confirmation of his death. Earlier this month, Israel said he had probably been eliminated.

There was no immediate response from Hezbollah to Israel’s statement that it had killed Safieddine.

“We have reached Nasrallah, his replacement and most of Hezbollah’s senior leadership. We will reach anyone who threatens the security of the civilians of the State of Israel,” said Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi.

A relative of Nasrallah, Safieddine was appointed to its Jihad Council — the body responsible for its military operations — and to its executive council, overseeing Hezbollah’s financial and administrative affairs.

Safieddine assumed a prominent role in speaking for Hezbollah during the last year, addressing funerals and other events that Nasrallah had long been unable to attend for security reasons.