Lebanon’s Hezbollah announces Naim Qassem as new leader

For more than 30 years, Naim Qassem was Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general and one of the group’s most recognised faces.

Hezbollah said he was elected by the Shura Council, in accordance with the group’s rules. His whereabouts are unclear, however some reports suggest he has fled to Iran, which is Hezbollah’s main supporter.

He was born in Beirut in 1953 to a family from Lebanon’s south.

Qassem was one of Hezbollah’s founding members and since Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli air strike he has made three televised addresses.

In one speech, he said a ceasefire was the only way Israel could guarantee the return of its residents to the north.

Announcing Qassem’s promotion, Hezbollah released a statement describing him as “bearing the blessed banner in this march”.

The statement also honoured the late Nasrallah and others killed in the conflict.

The new Hezbollah leadership was expected to be passed to cleric Hashem Safieddine, but on 22 October it was revealed that he had been killed in an Israeli air strike nearly three weeks prior.

Reacting to Qassem’s appointment on social media, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described it as a “temporary appointment” and “not for long”.