Naim Qassem Announced as Hezbollah’s New Leader

Naim Qassem has been appointed as the new leader of Hezbollah, signaling potential new directions for the organization amid regional complexities.

Hezbollah has declared Naim Qassem as its new leader.

Qassem, who was promoted from deputy leader as announced on Tuesday, succeeds Hassan Nasrallah as the secretary-general of the Lebanon-based armed group.

In late September, Nasrallah was killed in Beirut by an Israeli strike. Since Israel shifted its focus to the group that month, numerous other senior Hezbollah officials have also been targeted.

In a statement, Hezbollah announced that Qassem was chosen for the role because of his “commitment to Hezbollah’s principles and objectives.”

The statement mentioned that the group would “seek guidance from God Almighty to assist him in this noble mission of leading Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance.”

The death of Nasrallah, a key figure representing the Lebanese Shia movement to its supporters and the broader region, was perceived as creating a void within an organization that had already experienced significant leadership losses due to months of Israeli assassinations.

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Nasrallah’s cousin, Hashem Safieddine, was once considered the leading candidate to lead the Iran-affiliated Hezbollah. However, he died in an Israeli strike on Beirut shortly after his relative.

Qassem, aged 71, is frequently described as Hezbollah’s “number two.” As one of the religious scholars instrumental in founding the group during the early 1980s, he holds a significant legacy in Shia political activism.

He was the highest-ranking Hezbollah official to keep making public appearances after Nasrallah primarily went into hiding following the group’s 2006 conflict with Israel.

After the former leader’s death, Qassem has delivered three televised speeches. He uses more formal Arabic compared to Nasrallah’s preference for colloquial Lebanese.

On September 30, he delivered a bold statement asserting that Hezbollah stands prepared to confront and defeat Israel.