Netanyahu: Israel “ousted” Hashem Safi al-Din, Hassan Nasrallah’s successor

(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel had “ousted” the successor to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

Netanyahu said in a video statement: “We have killed thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself, Nasrallah’s deputy, and Nasrallah’s deputy.”

A Lebanese security source told the network CNNSaturday, In Hezbollah lost contact with Hashim Safi al-Din After being targeted by an Israeli attack in the southern suburb of Beirut, Friday. Hassan Nasrallah’s possible successor is considered to be Safi al-Din.

Netanyahu spoke directly to the Lebanese people in Tuesday’s statement, urging them to stand up to Hezbollah and “reclaim their country.”

“Christians, Druze, Muslims – Sunnis and Shiites alike – you are all suffering because of Hezbollah’s senseless war in Israel,” Netanyahu said.

He said, “You have a chance to save Lebanon before it falls into the agony of a long war that will bring destruction and suffering, as we are seeing in Gaza.”

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Israel’s war on Hezbollah resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 people in Lebanon. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced since fighting escalated last month, according to Lebanese authorities.