Hezbollah names Naim Qassem as its new leader after Nasrallah's death

Shiite cleric Naim Qassem has been appointed as the new secretary general of the terrorist and political group Hezbollah. Qassem thus moves from being the number two and interim leader of the organization to take the reins for good following the death of the man who held the post for 32 years, Hassan Nasrallah.

Following Nasrallah's death in an IDF airstrike on his bunker, it was expected that it would be Nasrallah's cousin, Hashem Safieddine, who would take over the leadership of the terrorist organization. However, last week, Israel also killed him in another airstrike.

"The Shura Council (the movement's ruling body) agreed to elect Chieftain Naim Qassem as secretary general of Hezbollah," announced a Hezbollah statement picked up by news agencies.

Qassem is one of the founding members of Hezbollah. Prior to this, his political career began in the ranks of Amal, the Lebanese Shiite political formation allied to Hezbollah in the Lebanese Parliament. Together, the two groups hold nearly all the Shiite community’s votes in Lebanon; they have around thirty deputies and control five ministries in Najib Mikati’s government—three for Amal and two for Hezbollah.

In the shadow of Nasrallah, Qassem stepped forward when the historic leader of the formation died. He then became the public face of the terrorist group. Since Nasrallah's death, he is believed to be holed up in the terrorist group's subway compounds most of the time, from where he is able to record communiques and speeches.

His last major public appearance was at the end of September, when Hezbollah organized a massive funeral for one of its commanders eliminated by Israel, Ibrahim Aqil.