Beirut: Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had elected deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on Beirut’s southern suburb over a month ago. The Israeli government’s official Arabic account on X posted, “His tenure in this position may be the shortest in the history of this terrorist organization if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.” “There is no solution in Lebanon except to dismantle this organization as a military force,” it wrote.
The group said in a written statement that its Shura Council had elected Qassem, 71, in accordance with its established mechanism for choosing a secretary general. He was appointed as Hezbollah’s deputy chief in 1991 by the armed group’s then-secretary general Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.
Who is Naim Qassem?
- Qassem remained in his role when Nasrallah became leader, and has long been one of Hezbollah’s leading spokesmen.
- He has been conducting interviews with foreign media, including as cross-border hostilities with Israel raged over the last year.
- Nasrallah was killed on September 27, and senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine – considered the most likely successor – was killed in Israeli strikes a week later.
- Since Nasrallah’s killing, Qassem has given three televised addresses, including one on October 8 in which he said the armed group supported efforts to reach a ceasefire for Lebanon.
- He is considered by many in Lebanon to lack the charisma and gravitas of Nasrallah.
Israel-Lebanon war
The tensions with Hezbollah boiled over last month, as Israel unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes and killed Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground invasion into Lebanon at the start of October. Even as attention has shifted to Lebanon and Iran in recent weeks, Israel has continued to wage a large operation in northern Gaza and to carry out airstrikes across the territory.
(With inputs from agency)
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