Israel Hezbollah appoints deputy leader Naim Kassim as new leader
Around four weeks after the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon has appointed a successor. According to the organization, the new Secretary General will be the former deputy leader Naim Kassim. Kassim has given several televised speeches since Nasrallah's death. His current whereabouts are unclear.
29.10.2024, 10:01
SDA
The Shura Council had agreed on Kassim's election to the post in accordance with the "recognized procedure for the election of the Secretary General", the Shia militia announced. Kassim would now lead Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance on a "noble mission". The militia announced that it would continue to pursue its previous goals under the new leader "until victory".
Israel's army killed the former leader Nasrallah at the end of September in an air strike in a southern suburb of Beirut. Since then, Hashim Safi al-Din, head of the Hezbollah Executive Council, was seen as a possible successor. Last week, however, the militia confirmed that he had been killed weeks earlier in an attack on the headquarters of the Hezbollah secret service near Beirut, as claimed by Israel's military.
Kassim was born in a village near Nabatija in southern Lebanon and is around 70 years old. He was one of the members who founded Hezbollah in the early 1980s to fight against the Israeli occupation in Lebanon. He has been deputy leader since 1992, making him one of the most influential figures within the organization alongside Nasrallah.
Israel has massively expanded its airstrikes in Lebanon since September - and has also targeted Hezbollah's leadership on several occasions. In addition, Israeli troops marched into southern Lebanon last month. Hezbollah has continued to bombard northern Israel almost daily for over a year, including with rockets.
