Hezbollah replaces slain leader Nasrallah with deputy

BEIRUT — Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah announced that Naim Kassem will become its new leader, replacing long-standing chief Hassan Nasrallah, who Israel assassinated just over a month ago.

Hezbollah’s main decision-making body, the Shura Council, agreed to make Kassem, who’s been deputy leader since 1991, the new secretary-general, the group announced on Telegram on Tuesday.

Kassem, who’s in his early 70s and used to teach chemistry, was not the obvious successor. Most analysts thought that would be Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah. Yet he was killed in a separate Israeli airstrike on Beirut in early October.

Kassem’s election “signals continuity rather than change for both Hezbollah and its backer Iran,” said Lina Khatib, associate fellow at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.

Kassem is the most politically experienced and most publicly prominent of Hezbollah’s remaining leaders, Khatib said.

Hezbollah vows to destroy the Israeli state. It began firing on Israel with missiles and drones in October last year, a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted. It said its aim was to support Hamas in Gaza and ultimately force Israel to agree to a cease-fire there.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran and designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S., as well as many other countries.

Israel stepped up its campaign against the group last month, saying diplomatic efforts by Western powers had failed to stop the attacks on Israeli territory. Israel was thought to be behind an attack that saw thousands of Hezbollah members’ pagers and walkie-talkies explode. Soon after, Nasrallah was targeted and killed in Beirut, dealing a massive blow to Hezbollah, which is Iran’s most important proxy terrorist group.

Israel also sent ground troops into southern Lebanon to target Hezbollah’s infrastructure and weaponry. It’s trying to clear the area of Hezbollah fighters and ensure its displaced civilians can return to their homes in northern Israel.

Despite its setbacks, Hezbollah has signaled it will carry on fighting Israel and continues to fire on the country almost every day.

Until recently, Kassem was based in Beirut. It’s unclear if he’s fled somewhere else to try to evade Israeli airstrikes.

In a recent interview, the New Yorker described Kassem as less charismatic that Nasrallah. He was “studious and dour,” an “unlikely warrior” and accused Israel of trying to wipe out Palestinians — something Israel has consistently denied — according to the magazine.

“Rather than electing a primarily military figure, in choosing Kassem, who has vast experience in dealing with international and domestic political affairs, Iran and Hezbollah are preparing themselves for the scenario when they will enter negotiations linked with the end of the ongoing war with Israel,” Khatib said. “Hezbollah needs an experienced political interlocutor at the helm.”