The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that deputy leader Naim Qassem has been elected to succeed the late secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed over a month ago in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
In a statement, Hezbollah confirmed that its Shura Council had elected Qassem, 71, following its established protocol for selecting a new secretary-general. Qassem was originally appointed as Hezbollah’s deputy chief in 1991 by then-leader Abbas al-Musawi, who was later killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in 1992.
Qassem continued to serve as deputy when Nasrallah assumed leadership and has been a prominent spokesperson for Hezbollah, engaging with international media even as cross-border hostilities with Israel escalated in the past year.
Nasrallah was killed on September 27, and shortly afterward, senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine—seen as a potential successor—was also killed in Israeli strikes.
Since Nasrallah’s death, Qassem has delivered three televised addresses, including one on October 8, where he expressed Hezbollah’s support for ceasefire efforts in Lebanon.
