Tehran [Iran], October 25: Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on October 24 that Hezbollah is Lebanon's best defense against Israel.
"Hezbollah is Lebanon 's strongest defender and the strongest shield against the greed of the Zionist regime that has long targeted Lebanon's disintegration," Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed in a statement, according to AFP.
Khamenei's statement was in response to Hezbollah's confirmation of the death of Hashem Safieddine, who was expected to lead the force after the death of leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to AFP.
Hezbollah confirmed on October 23 that its "future leader" Hashem Safieddine and several other members were killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to Reuters. On October 22, the Israeli military announced that Safieddine had died in an airstrike in the Lebanese capital Beirut three weeks earlier.
Since September 23, Israel has carried out a series of attacks on Hezbollah strongholds, especially around the capital Beirut, and has also taken ground action in southern Lebanon.
The attacks have killed at least 1,552 people in Lebanon, while the United Nations says some 800,000 people have been displaced, according to AFP figures based on official sources.
Faced with the above situation, on October 24, the French government held an international conference in Paris to raise 800 million USD in humanitarian aid for Lebanon.
"The war must end as soon as possible, there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon," French President Emmanuel Macron said while sitting next to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Mr Macron called on Hezbollah to stop "provocations" and reminded Israel that in Lebanon "their past military successes do not necessarily represent victory", according to AFP.
There is currently no information about the reaction of Israel or Hezbollah to the statement of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Macron's statement.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
