Hezbollah appoints Naim Qassem as its new leader; Israel predicts he won’t stay long

BEIRUT – Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, chose Naim Qassem as its new leader on Tuesday, but Israel declared his stay would be “temporary,” an apparent threat after killing his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut more than a month ago.

“It’s a temporary appointment. “Not for long,” Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on X, beside a photo of Qassem.

Earlier, Iran-backed Hezbollah announced in a written statement that its Shura Council had elected Qassem, 71, in accordance with the organization’s established mechanism for selecting a secretary general.

Qassem was designated Hezbollah’s deputy chief in 1991 by the armed group’s then-secretary general, Abbas al-Musawi, who was assassinated by an Israeli helicopter the next year.

Qassem stayed in his position when Nasrallah took over as leader, and he has long been one of Hezbollah’s major spokespersons, giving interviews to foreign media, particularly during the past year of cross-border combat with Israel.

Nasrallah was assassinated on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, and senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine, considered the most likely successor, was killed a week later.

Since Nasrallah’s death, Qassem has given three televised statements, including one on Oct. 8 in which he stated that the armed organization backed efforts to reach a cease-fire in Lebanon.

In Lebanon, many people believe he lacks Nasrallah’s gravitas and charisma.

The Israeli government’s official Arabic account on X stated: “His tenure in this position may be the shortest in the history of this terrorist organization if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.”

“There is no solution in Lebanon except to dismantle this organization as a military force,” according to its statement.