Lebanon’s Hezbollah Announces Naim Qassem as New Leader
Hezbollah’s new leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, listens to a speech by former leader Hassan Nasrallah on a screen in southern Beirut, June 19, 2024. (Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah recently announced the election of 71-year-old Naim Qassem — Hezbollah’s long-time deputy secretary general — as the group’s new chief leader last week.
Naim Qassem served as Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general for more than 30 years, becoming one of the group’s most recognizable faces. Hezbollah reports that he was elected by the group’s Shura Council as he aligned with their rules and policies.
Qassem’s current whereabouts remain unknown, but some reports presume that the leader fled to Iran, Hezbollah’s main supporter.
Qaseem has a long history in Shia political activism and is one of the figures who founded Hezbollah in the early 1980s. Qassem has also long been considered Hezbollah’s “number two” due to the multitude of public appearances and speeches he’s made after Nasrallah withdrew from the public eye following the group’s 2006 confrontation with Israel.
Following the death of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in late September, Qassem has made three televised addresses. On Sep. 30, Qassem issued an official message, saying that the group was “quite ready” for a ground incursion with Israel, emphasizing Hezbollah’s willingness to counterattack Israel.
People watch Naim Qassem give a televised speech in Sidon, Lebanon, October 30, 2024. (Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Before Qassem’s adoption of leadership was made public, Nasrallah’s cousin and Hezbollah’s executive council leader, Hashem Safieddene, was speculated to become the next leader of the group. Israel reported that Safieddine was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on Tuesday Oct. 3. Hezbollah confirmed his death on Oct. 22.
In response to Qassem's appointment, on social media, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant referred to it as a "temporary appointment" that would "not last long."
In recent weeks, Israel has conducted airstrikes across Lebanon, targeting what it claims are Hezbollah operatives, infrastructure and weaponry.
On Monday night, the Israeli military struck the eastern Bekaa Valley, an area known for its strong Hezbollah presence. The Lebanese health ministry reported that at least 60 people were killed and over 50 were injured in the strikes. The Israeli military has not yet commented on this particular attack.
Israel has intensified its attacks against Hezbollah following nearly a year of escalating cross-border tensions fueled by the war in Gaza. The Israeli government stated that its aim is to secure the safe return of residents in border areas displaced by previous Hezbollah's rocket, missile and drone assaults.
According to Lebanon's health ministry, more than 2,700 people have died and nearly 12,900 have been injured over the past year as a result of Israeli offensives into Lebanon. During the same period, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets and drones into Israel, resulting in at least 59 fatalities in northern Israel and occupied Golan Heights.
Qassem says that Hezbollah will keep fighting Israel until Israel offers an acceptable ceasefire deal. In light of recent Israeli attacks on the Lebanese city of Baalbek, Qassem’s assertion that Hezbollah will stand its ground comes off as ambitious.
In light of the recent leadership assignment and Israel’s continuous attacks, a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel becomes increasingly elusive.