Lebanese armed group Hezbollah named Naim Qassem as its new leader on Tuesday but Israel said his tenure would be “temporary”, an apparent threat after it killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut over a month ago.
“Temporary appointment. Not for long,” Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X with a photo of Qassem.
Earlier, Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a written statement that its Shura Council had elected Qassem, 71, in accordance with its established mechanism for choosing a secretary general.
A statement issued by the leadership of Hezbollah on Tuesday said: “Based on faith in God Almighty, commitment to the authentic Muhammadan Islam, adherence to the principles and goals of Hezbollah, and in accordance with the approved mechanism for electing the Secretary-General, the Hezbollah Shura Council agreed to elect His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem as Secretary-General of Hezbollah, carrying the blessed banner in this journey, asking God Almighty to guide him in this noble mission in leading Hezbollah and its Islamic resistance.
“We pledge to God Almighty and to the spirit of our highest and most precious martyr, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (may God be pleased with him), and to the martyrs, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance, and our steadfast, patient and loyal people, to work together to achieve the principles of Hezbollah and the goals of its path, and to keep the flame of resistance shining and its banner raised until victory is achieved, and God is victorious over His affair, God is strong and mighty.”
Qassem was appointed as Hezbollah’s deputy chief in 1991 by the armed group’s then-secretary general Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.
Qassem remained in his role when Nasrallah became leader, and has long been one of Hezbollah’s leading Spokespersons, conducting interviews with foreign media, including while cross-border hostilities with Israel raged over the last year.
Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27 in an Israeli air attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, and senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine – considered the most likely successor – was killed in Israeli strikes a week later.
Since Nasrallah’s killing, Qassem has given three televised addresses, including one on Oct. 8 in which he said the armed group supported efforts to reach a ceasefire for Lebanon.
Born in 1953 in the Southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Qassem is a well-known member of the old guard. The 71-year-old Shiite cleric helped found Hezbollah in 1982, and has served seven consecutive terms as deputy secretary-general since 1991. He also oversees the group’s parliamentary activities.
Before his work with Hezbollah, he took part in “Harakat al Mahrumin,” or the Movement of the Dispossessed – a political group that later morphed into the Shiite Amal movement, a Hezbollah-allied group that is now led by speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri.
The cleric has long been under Israel’s radar. Before killing Nasrallah, Israel also targeted his predecessor Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed in an airstrike in 1992.
Qassem was a chemistry teacher for six years before his days in Hezbollah. He often gave interviews on television and to newspapers. In 2015, he wrote the book, Hezbollah: The Story from Within, which told the story of the Hezbollah’s emergence as “resistance force” and political party that sought to counter Israeli occupation.
Despite his media prominence, he was not someone average Lebanese citizens could relate to, Ali said, making him unlikely to match his predecessor’s popularity. Qassem represented “the lower middle class,” while Nasrallah “belonged to the impoverished class in Lebanon,” Ali said.
The cleric has repeatedly condemned Israel’s war in Gaza, saying that Hezbollah’s “supportive front” for the Palestinians will only intensify “the more Israel increases its aggression, especially when it targets civilians.”
But Qassem is unlikely to be “an absolute leader” for Hezbollah, Ali noted. “It is more likely that he will be a coordinator of the different voices in the organization,” he said, adding that this may not be intentional on the part of the group, given there were few options to choose from after Israel exacted “a generational coup” by killing most of Hezbollah’s old guard.
Written with agency reports