CONFLICT
Wie is Hezbollah’s nieuwe leider Naim Qassem?
October 30, 2024 - Hezbollah’s new secretary-general is Naim Qassem, the longtime number two to the late Hassan Nasrallah who was killed by an Israeli strike on September 27.
Qassem, elected head of the Lebanese armed group on Tuesday, has been a senior figure in the Iran-backed movement for more than 30 years.
Speaking from an undisclosed location on Oct. 8, Qassem said the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was a war about who cries first, and Hezbollah would not cry first. The group’s capabilities were intact despite “painful blows” from Israel.
But he added the group supported efforts to reach a ceasefire, for the first time omitting any mention of a Gaza truce deal as a pre-condition for halting the group’s fire on Israel.
His 30-minute televised address came just days after senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine was thought to have been the target of an Israeli strike and 11 days after the killing of Hezbollah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, France 24 said.