Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah has appointed Naim Qassem as its interim leader following the martyrdom of Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, according to media reports.
Nasrallah, who was killed alongside his daughter Zeinab and senior leader Ali Karaki in the Israeli airstrikes, has been succeeded temporarily by Qassem, a long-standing figure in the organisation.
Reports suggest that Hashem Safi al-Din, who currently heads Hezbollah’s Executive Council, is likely to be appointed as the new permanent leader. Safi al-Din is also a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, which oversees the group’s military operations.
Hashem Safi al-Din has close family ties with Nasrallah, which has further fuelled speculation that he will take on the leadership role.
Yesterday, the Israeli military had stated that it had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group’s central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut a day earlier. Later, Hezbollah also confirmed that Nasrallah was killed.
His death would not only mark an enormous blow to Hezbollah, but also to Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards founded the group in 1982. The Israeli military “eliminated … Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement on X.
Another top Hezbollah leader – Ali Karaki – was also killed, he added.
“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world,” the Israeli military said in a separate post.
Friday’s attack on Hezbollah’s command centre, followed by further airstrikes on Saturday, have escalated the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed group, adding to concerns the region could be sucked into a broader war.
Adraee’s statement, posted in Arabic, said Israel had struck Hezbollah’s underground headquarters while its leadership were “coordinating terrorist activities against the citizens of Israel”.
Late on Friday, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was not reachable.
In the first hours after Friday’s strike, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was alive. Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that Tehran was checking his status.
Israel followed up on Friday’s attack with a new wave of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon on Saturday.
