Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah announced on Tuesday, October 29, that deputy leader Naim Qassem has been elected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as the leader. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month. Israel has responded to Qassem’s appointment.
In a written statement on Tuesday, the armed group announced that Hezbollah’s Shura Council elected 71-year-old Qassem to serve as the new Secretary-General in accordance with its established leadership election mechanism.
After Nasrallah was killed, Qassem has been serving as the acting leader and has delivered several televised speeches, vowing that Hezbollah will continue to fight despite facing setbacks.
Qassem was appointed as Hezbollah’s deputy leader by then-leader Abbas al-Musawi in 1991, and Musawi was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.
When Nasrallah became the leader of Hezbollah, Qassem continued to serve as the deputy leader and has been one of Hezbollah’s main spokespersons, giving interviews to foreign media.
The Israeli government responded to Qassem’s appointment on social media platform X.
“If he (Qassem) follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, he may become the shortest-serving leader in the history of this terrorist organization,” Israel said. “Apart from dismantling this military force, Lebanon has no other solution.”
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched unprecedented attacks from Gaza towards Israel, sparking the Gaza-Israel conflict. The next day, Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, began firing rockets at Israel, forcing northern Israeli residents to evacuate their homes and move to safer areas.
In recent weeks, Israel has intensified airstrikes on Hezbollah, causing the command structure of the armed group to be fragmented. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was killed, and his potential successor Hashem Safieddine as well as Intelligence Headquarters commander Ali Hussein Hazima were also killed in Israeli airstrikes. Furthermore, Hezbollah lost several military commanders in Israel’s heavy artillery fire.
Since Nasrallah’s death, Qassem has delivered three televised speeches, including one on October 8, in which he expressed support for efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement for Lebanon.
(This article was adapted from Reuters reporting.)