Israeli air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs since Friday have kept rescue workers from searching the site of an Israeli strike suspected to have killed Hezbollah’s anticipated next leader, three Lebanese security sources told Reuters on Saturday.

Hezbollah’s likely new leader Hashem Safieddine is like his late predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, a staunch critic of Israel and the West, with deep alliances with the Iranian leadership.

The heir-apparent to Hezbollah‘s late Hassan Nasrallah has been out of contact since Friday following an Israeli airstrike targeting him. Israel launched the strike on Friday local time against Hashem Safieddine,

Hashem Safieddine, with whom contact has been lost after Israeli air strikes, according to a senior Hezbollah source, is the man widely considered the potential successor to the group's assassinated