Hashem Safieddine was a Lebanese Shia cleric who served as the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council from 2001 until his assassination in 2024. A maternal cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, Safieddine was considered the "number two" in Hezbollah for many years. In 2017, he was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States and designated as a terrorist by several Arab Gulf states. Following the 2024 Hezbollah headquarters strike on 27 September 2024, during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, in which Nasrallah was killed, Safieddine was named as his likely successor. On 3 October 2024, Safieddine was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh, south of Beirut. His death was confirmed later that month.