The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) overseas military-intelligence service, who traveled to Lebanon last month after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike, has not been heard from since last week’s strikes on Beirut, Iranian officials say.

Reuters reported that two senior Iranian security officials confirmed that Iran’s Quds Force commander, Esmail Qaani, had not been heard from since late last week.

One official told the wire Qaani was in the southern suburbs of Beirut during a missile strike that reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, though he was not meeting with the Hezbollah leader.

An official from Hezbollah said Israel was not permitting them to search for Safieddine after the bombing in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday. The group also said it would not announce Safieddine’s fate until the search for him was over.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL WARNS ‘EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE’ AS IDF PREPARES RESPONSE TO IRANIAN MISSILE ATTACK

Safieddine was reportedly a likely successor to Nasrallah, who died when Israel launched a strike on Dahiyeh on Sept. 27.

The Iranian official told the Associated Press that Iran and Hezbollah were unable to contact Qaani after the U.S. assassinated his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike in 2020.

The second Iranian official told the AP that Qaani traveled to Lebanon after Nasrallah was killed, adding that authorities had not been able to contact him since the strike on Safieddine.

ISRAEL LAUNCHES LIMITED GROUND OPERATIONS IN LEBANON AS WAR AGAINST HEZBOLLAH, TERRORIST GROUPS CONTINUE

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the southern suburb of Beirut on Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An Iranian official told Fox News Digital that the higher up an official is, the harder it is to conceal.

“Whatever the verdict is on Qaani’s whereabouts, the fact that the regime has not been able to produce him to quell rumors means he is either injured or in hiding,” the official said. “Israel is pressing its advantage in Lebanon against commanders of Iran’s threat network, leading to command-and-control issues and chaos that generates rumors like these.”

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An IDF profile picture shows Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah, who the IDF confirmed was killed in a strike. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani was asked about reports that Qaani may have been killed in the Israeli airstrike, and he said the results of the strikes were still being assessed.

Shoshani said the attack late last week was against Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut.

Qaani’s Quds Force is responsible for overseeing the dealings with Tehran and allied militias like Hezbollah across the Middle East.

IRGC commander Brig. Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, was killed with Nasrallah on Sept. 27 when Israel’s bombs struck his bunker.

Reuters contributed to this report.

There has been some early reaction from European leaders on the first anniversary of the Hamas incursion into Israel which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Hamas attacks, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed and 250 others taken hostage, were an example of “unspeakable savagery” which could not be justified.

“The European Union stands with all the innocent people whose lives have been shattered to the core since that fateful day,” she said in a statement.

She reiterated her call for a ceasefire in the Strip and the unconditional release of the Israelis still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli authorities say almost 100 hostages remain in Gaza, but fewer than 70 are believed to still be alive. 

“One year on, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling. The European Union will keep doing its utmost to mobilise financial assistance and facilitate deliveries and distribution of humanitarian aid, to the Palestinian people, and now also in Lebanon,” she said.

“Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel ignited a spiral of violence which has brought the entire region to a state of extreme tension and volatility.”

In a year of fighting, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza but the Hamas-run health ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

In a video posted on X, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz regretted that “so much suffering, so many deaths” had taken place on both sides of the conflict.

“With their disgusting attack on Israel, Hamas triggered a catastrophe for the Palestinian people. The Federal Government therefore continues to persistently advocate for a ceasefire, which must finally come about so that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip can be better protected and, of course, better cared for,” he said.

And in prayers at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Pope Francis appealed to the Virgin Mary for help “in these times oppressed by injustice and devastated by wars.” 

“You who are the queen of peace, convert the minds of those who fuel hatred, silence the noise of weapons that generate death, extinguish the violence that smoulders in the heart of man and inspire peace projects in the actions of those who govern the Nations,” he said.

More reaction from Europe is expected throughout Monday.

Strikes on Gaza continue

On Sunday, the Israeli military announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, the site of a refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

Israel reiterated its call, from the early weeks of the war, for the complete evacuation of northern Gaza.

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Up to 300,000 people are estimated to have remained in the heavily destroyed north while around a million fled to the south.

Those fresh orders have prompted thousands to flee the area, many leaving on foot, some using donkeys and carts.

“We did not do anything and they attacked us without warning, without notifying us of maps or anything else. They surprised us this time and we fled. We left with our families and children without anything, just some clothes,” said camp resident Moe’n Khader.

Palestinian authorities reported heavy Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday, with at least 19 people killed in an attack on a central mosque.

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Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have said they have put the country on high alert for potential attacks as they prepare to hold their own memorials for the victims of the 7 October Hamas attacks.

Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, is “concluding” his diplomatic mission, Russian agencies reported late on Saturday.