Hezbollah has announced its former deputy leader, Naim Qassem, as its new leader.
Qassem’s promotion was announced on Tuesday, replacing Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Beirut in late September, as secretary-general of the Lebanon-based armed group.
Hezbollah, through a statement, explained that Qassem was elected by the Shura Council, due to his “adherence to the principles and goals of Hezbollah.”
Nasrallah’s cousin Hashem Safieddine who was the group’s potential head, was also killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut shortly after Nasrallah’s death.
Qassem, aged 71, also known as Hezbollah’s “number two,” was one of the group’s founders in the early 1980s. He became the most senior official to make public appearances after Nasrallah went into hiding in 2006. He remains one of the few senior Hezbollah officials still alive.
Since Israel began its attack on Lebanon, more than 2,700 people have died and close to 12,500 injured according to the country’s health ministry.
Hezbollah’s attack on Israel has also resulted in at least 59 deaths in northern Israel as well as the occupied Golan Heights.
