Hezbollah announces support for ceasefire Israel has killed two of Hezbollah's successors

On Tuesday (October 8), Hezbollah announced its support for a ceasefire and no longer made a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip a condition for negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced that Israel had killed two successors to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah; At the same time, Israel deployed its fourth Division to southern Lebanon to expand its ground offensive against the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

In a televised address from an undisclosed location Tuesday, Hezbollah deputy General Secretary Naim Qassem said he supported efforts by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri to broker a cease-fire, without specifying any conditions for the group.

This is the first time that Hezbollah has not made an end to the Gaza war a precondition for stopping the Israeli-Lebanese fighting.

But Qasim added: "If the enemy (Israel) continues to fire, then we will decide on the battlefield."

Qassem is now the most senior member of Hezbollah after its general secretary, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed by Israel. Berri is an ally of Hezbollah.

"We have weakened Hezbollah," Netanyahu said October 8. We have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah, and Nasrallah's successors and his successors." (Reuters)

Following Hezbollah's statement, the Israeli Prime minister's office released a video message from Netanyahu. "We have weakened Hezbollah," Netanyahu said in the video. We have eliminated thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah's successors and his successors."

Netanyahu did not name Nasrallah's two successors, and it was not immediately clear who he was referring to as the "successor to the successor."

Israeli Defense Minister Yad Galant said Hashem Safieddine, who was expected to succeed Nasrallah, had probably been "eliminated."

Israeli military spokesman Hagari later said Israeli warplanes knew Safeddin was inside Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters when they bombed it last week. Israel is "searching for Safiddin's whereabouts and will report to the public as soon as it is confirmed." Safiddin has not been seen since the bombing of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters.