Hezbollah has elected Naim Qassem its new Secretary General, Hezbollah announced on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported. Qassem replaces former leader Hassan Nasrallah who was assassinated by Israel in an airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27.
Qassem, 71, is a veteran of Hezbollah, having served as Deputy Secretary General since 1991, and having overseen the organization’s parliamentary and governmental activities.
He gained a reputation as a hardliner in Hezbollah’s hierarchy, supporting the group’s involvement in Lebanese politics while maintaining its militant resistance against Israel.
In his most recent public statement in the wake of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Qassem said that Hezbollah had “regained its field strength and capabilities.”
In that statement, he touted the reach of Hezbollah’s missile capability, citing the group’s recent strikes against Tel Aviv, the temporary closure of Ben Gurion Airport, and the reported evacuation of two million Israelis into shelters.