Hizbullah announced that Naim Kassem has been appointed as the leader of the organization following the killing of Hasan Nasrallah by Israel. Kassem has been serving as the deputy general secretary since 1991.

Hizbullah announced that Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hasan Nasrallah’s deputy, has been appointed as the general secretary of Hizbullah.

In a statement from the Iran-backed movement, it was said, “The Shura Council elected Sheikh Naim Kassem as the general secretary of Hizbullah to replace Hasan Nasrallah.”

After Nasrallah was killed by the Israeli army in Beirut in September, discussions began about who would take over the leadership of the organization.

Hashim Safi Al-Din, who was being named as Nasrallah’s successor, was expected to become Hizbullah’s new leader.

However, Safi Al-Din was also killed in an Israeli attack.

Kassem, who has been serving as the deputy general secretary since 1991, is one of the experienced members of the group.

“WE WILL NOT LAY DOWN OUR ARMS”

Following Nasrallah’s killing, Kassem made a speech broadcasted on television on October 8. Saying that “the US is a significant partner in all the crimes committed in Gaza,” Kassem stated: “Our capabilities are strong, the claim that Israel has hit our capabilities is a mere fantasy. All the positions we lost in the attacks have been filled. No one should think that we will abandon our positions, lay down our arms.”

WHO IS NAIM KASSEM?

Born in Beirut in 1953 to a Shi’a family from southern Lebanon, Kassem’s political activism began with the Amal Movement.

He parted ways with the group in 1979 during the Iranian Islamic Revolution.

Kassem participated in meetings that led to the establishment of Hizbullah with the support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards after Israel’s occupation of Lebanon in 1982.

In 1991, he was appointed as the deputy by the then-general secretary Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.

Kassem remained in his position when Nasrallah took over as the leader and became a prominent spokesperson for Hizbullah in interviews with foreign media.

After Nasrallah’s death, he was the first among Hizbullah’s senior leaders to make a televised statement.