29.10.2024 11:51
Last month, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah was killed in an assassination carried out by the Israeli army, and his deputy Naim Qassem has been appointed as his successor. Following Nasrallah's death, Qassem appeared before the cameras and stated, "No one should think that we will abandon our positions or lay down our weapons."
After the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by the Israeli army in Beirut in September, discussions began about who would take over the organization. According to a statement from the group, Naim Qassem, who served as Nasrallah's deputy, has become the new leader of Hezbollah.
"WE WILL NOT GIVE UP OUR WEAPONS"
Qassem made a televised speech on October 8, following Nasrallah's assassination. Stating that "the U.S. is a significant partner in all the crimes committed in Gaza," Qassem said: "Our capabilities are solid; the claim that Israel has struck our capabilities is a fantasy. The positions of all those we lost in the attacks have been filled. "No one should think that we will abandon our positions or give up our weapons."
HE FREQUENTLY APPEARED IN FRONT OF CAMERAS
Haşim Seyfettin, whose name began to be mentioned as Nasrallah's successor, was expected to become the new leader of Hezbollah. However, Seyfettin was also killed in an Israeli attack. Sheikh Naim Qassem has been the name appearing in front of cameras in statements made on behalf of Hezbollah since Nasrallah's assassination.
WHO IS NAIM QASSEM?
The new leader of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, was born in 1953 in Kfar Fila to a Shia family. Naim Qassem is married and has 6 children. He manages his own social media accounts on platforms like Facebook and YouTube. He studied theology, and his teacher was Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah. He obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Lebanese University. Naim Qassem was one of the founders of the Lebanese Muslim Student Union established in the 1970s. He joined the Amal movement led by Musa al-Sadr. Qassem served as the president of the Islamic Religious Education Association from 1974 to 1988. He also worked as an advisor for the al-Mustafa schools. Qassem participated in the founding activities of Hezbollah and became the deputy secretary-general of the group in 1991.
It was reported that Qassem left Beirut on October 5, 2024, on the plane used by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for his official visit to Lebanon and Syria, and subsequently lived in Tehran. In 2006, Qassem published a book titled "Hezbollah: The Story from Within." In August 2011, he attended a ceremony for the eighth edition of his book, where he stated, "We were offered billions of dollars to rebuild impoverished South Lebanon in exchange for handing over our weapons and stopping the resistance's activities. However, we told them that we did not need their money and that the resistance would continue regardless of the consequences."