Hezbollah named its new leader, a long-serving deputy, after Israel killed his predecessor

Naim Qassem was Hezbollah’s second-in-command for many years. 

Hezbollah announced a new leader, Naim Qassem, after Israel killed both its longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah, and the person who had been expected to succeed him.

Qassem was named Hezbollah’s secretary-general on Tuesday.

He was the deputy leader of the Lebanon-based militant group, and had been for decades.

Qassem helped found Hezbollah in the 1980s and was first made its deputy leader in 1991 under Abbas al-Musawi.

He did not take over as leader when al-Musawi was killed in 1992, and remained deputy all through Nasrallah’s 32-year stint.

Qassem has often been a public face of the group, handling high-stakes appearances in the international media, including interviews with NBC News. He also used to run a YouTube channel, which was shut down.

Qassem wrote books including “Hizbullah: The Story from Within,” which was on sale by Amazon until its removal in 2019.

Nasrallah was killed last month when Israel conducted a targeted strike on Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut.

Also killed was his cousin, Hashem Safieddine, who was in line to succeed Nasrallah ahead of Qassem.

It was part of the latest exchange of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which started firing at Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas terror attacks on Israeli territory.

The situation escalated last month after a series of pager explosions in Lebanon, which were followed by an Israeli aerial bombing campaign, which included the targeting of Hezbollah’s senior officials.

In the absence of Nasrallah and Safieddine, Qassem emerged as the militant group’s main voice, giving a series of televised addresses.

In one such appearance, he said Hezbollah had adopted a “new calculation” to inflict pain on Israel if it didn’t agree to a cease-fire.

In 2018, the US sanctioned Qassem, holding him responsible for acting for or on behalf of Hezbollah, which the US Department of State has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

Deeply critical of the US, Qassem described America as being “soaked from head to toe in the aggression and genocide alongside Israel” during a speech at a funeral last month.

This was followed by a chant of “Death to America,” according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

He takes over at a perilous time for the economy in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has significant influence on the elected government.

The United Nations Development Program estimated last week that the Lebanese economy could contract by 9.2% if the fighting between Lebanon and Israel continues through to the end of the year.