Netanyahu says Israel has 'taken out' slain Hezbollah leader's successors

JERUSALEM ? Israeli forces have killed the would-be successors of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, without naming them.

"We've degraded Hezbollah's capabilities. We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's replacement, and the replacement of the replacement," Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message.

Netanyahu did not identify by name Nasrallah's replacement that he claimed Israel had killed.

A Hezbollah official told Reuters on Sunday that Israel was obstructing search and rescue efforts in an area where Nasrallah's potential successor Hashem Safieddine is thought to have been when Israel bombed Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday.

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Israel killed Nasrallah in a September air strike on Beirut.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Nasrallah's replacement had probably been "eliminated".

It was not immediately clear who Netanyahu meant in his comments by the "replacement of the replacement".

"Today, Hezbollah is weaker than it has been for many, many years," Netanyahu said in his video message, which was directed at the people of Lebanon.

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Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel last Oct. 8, a day after Hamas Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200. Hezbollah cited solidarity with Hamas. More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Israel's war with Hamas over the last year, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

Some 60,000 Israeli citizens in the country's north have been forced to leave their homes. Israel's stated objective is to make its northern areas safe from Hezbollah rocket fire and allow those displaced residents to return.

"Israel has a right to defend itself. Israel also has a right to win. And Israel will win," Netanyahu said.

He urged Lebanon to "take back your country" and return it to a path of peace and prosperity and take advantage of an opportunity that hasn't existed in decades.

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"If you don't, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense. It doesn't care if Lebanon is dragged into a wider war," he added. "Christians, Druze, Muslims — Sunnis and Shiites — all of you are suffering because of Hezbollah's futile war against Israel.

"Don't let these terrorists destroy your future any more than they've already done," Netanyahu added. "You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza. It doesn't have to be that way."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hassan Nasrallah's successors killed in Israeli strikes, Netanyahu says