Hezbollah announces Naim Qassem as its new leader

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah announced on Tuesday, the 29th of October, that it has elected its deputy leader, Naim Qassem, to succeed its leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike more than a month ago, reports Reuters.
The group said in a written statement that its Shura Council elected the 71-year-old Qassem in accordance with its mechanism for electing a secretary-general.
He was appointed deputy leader of Hezbollah in 1991 and remained in that position after Nasrallah became leader, and was long one of Hezbollah’s leading spokesmen, giving interviews to foreign media, including during the cross-border hostilities with Israel last year.
Nasrallah was killed on the 27th of September and a week later Hezbollah’s senior leader Hassem Safieddine, seen as the most likely successor, was killed in Israeli strikes.
Since Nasrallah’s assassination, Qassem has made three television appearances, including on the 8th of October when he said the militant group supported efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The Israeli government’s official Arabic-language account on X stated: “If he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, his tenure may be the shortest in the history of this terrorist organisation.”
“There is no other solution in Lebanon than to dismantle this organisation as a military force,” the statement said.