Hezbollah's Coordination Official: Wafiq Safa Escapes Israel in Central Beirut

Hezbollah's Coordination Official: Wafiq Safa Escapes Israel in Central Beirut
Wafiq Safa's survival of the Israeli strike may enhance his position within Hezbollah and increase his importance in managing the party's operations and external relations in the coming phase
October 10, 2024, 11:11 pm

مسؤول التنسيق بـ"حزب الله": وفيق صفا \ متداولة

Israel launched two airstrikes on residential areas in central Beirut on Thursday, in a failed attempt to assassinate Wafiq Safa, a prominent coordination and liaison official in the Lebanese Hezbollah. Three security sources confirmed to Reuters that Safa survived the Israeli assassination attempt.

The first strike targeted the third floor of an 8-story building in the Noueiry area, while the second strike led to the complete collapse of a 4-story building on Fatah Allah Street in Basta Fawqa. The attacks resulted in 22 deaths and 117 injuries, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Wafiq Safa, born in 1960 in the town of Zibdin in southern Lebanon, is considered a pivotal figure in Hezbollah. He joined the party in 1984 and became head of the security committee in 1987.

Safa played a key role in managing the party's political, foreign, and security relations, and had a prominent role in many negotiations, including prisoner exchange operations with Israel.

The United States accuses Safa of exploiting Lebanese ports and border crossings to facilitate the travel of party members, as well as involvement in drug and weapons smuggling operations. Locally, Safa is accused of obstructing investigations into the 2020 Beirut port explosion by threatening the judicial investigator, Judge Bitar.

These raids come in the context of ongoing Israeli escalation against Hezbollah since September 23, where Israel has directed a series of strikes against the party's strongholds and its military and leadership structure, most notably the assassination of its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in a massive airstrike in the southern suburb on September 27.

Levant-Agencies

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