Netanyahu says Safieddine dead, urges Lebanese to 'free' Lebanon from Hezbollah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday that Israel assassinated the projected new Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, who was targeted in a massive airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, claiming also that Israel has killed Safieddine’s replacement, without saying who this would be.

In an English-language video message to the Lebanese public, Netanyahu said that Israel has “degraded Hezbollah’s capabilities; we took out thousands of terrorists, including [longtime Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan] Nasrallah himself, and Nasrallah’s replacement, and the replacement of his replacement.”

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said Tuesday night that Israel was still checking the status of Safieddine, and accused Hezbollah of trying to hide details of the strike where he was believed to have been.

Netanyahu said that “today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many many years.”

He spent much of the message urging the Lebanese people to take the country back from what he called Hezbollah's control.

“Now you, the Lebanese people, you stand at a significant crossroads. It is your choice,” he continued.

Lebanese citizens, Netanyahu said, “can now take back your country. You can return it to a path of peace and prosperity.”

If they don’t, he argues, “Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense.”

He said that the Lebanese “deserve to restore Lebanon to its days of tranquility; you deserve a Lebanon that is different.”

“One country, one Flag, one People,” he said, borrowing from the original U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. “Don’t let these terrorists destroy your future any more than they’ve already done,” he added.

“Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end,” he said.

“Free your country from Hezbollah so that your country can prosper again, so that future generations of Lebanese and Israeli children will know neither war nor bloodshed, but will finally live together in peace," he added.