Lebanon’s Hezbollah announces Naim Qassem as new leader

[Pelican Press 0]

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Lebanon’s Hezbollah announces Naim Qassem as new leader

Hezbollah has announced the group’s deputy secretary general will become its new head.

Naim Qassem replaces long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was ******* in an ******** air strike in Beirut last month.

He is one of the few senior Hezbollah leaders who ******** alive, after ******* ******* most of the group’s leadership in a series of attacks.

The appointment comes as the conflict in Lebanon intensified in recent weeks.

For more than 30 years, Naim Qassem was Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general and one of the group’s most recognised faces.

Hezbollah said he was elected by the Shura Council, in accordance with the group’s rules. His whereabouts are unclear, however some reports suggest he has fled to Iran, which is Hezbollah’s main supporter.

Announcing Qassem’s promotion, Hezbollah released a statement describing him as “bearing the blessed banner in this march”.

The statement also honoured

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and others ******* in the conflict.

The new Hezbollah leadership was expected to be passed to cleric Hashem Safieddine, but on 22 October

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in an ******** air strike nearly three weeks prior.

******* has carried out air strikes across Lebanon in recent weeks, targeting what it says are Hezbollah’s operatives, infrastructure and weapons.

On Monday night, the ******** military carried out air strikes in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, an area where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

The Lebanese health ministry said at least 60 people were ******* and more than 50 wounded.

The ******** military has yet to comment on the *******.

******* went on the offensive against Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks.

Over the past year, more than 2,700 people have been ******* and nearly 12,500 injured in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.

Hezbollah has attacked ******* with thousands of rockets and drones over the same *******, and at least 59 people have been ******* in northern ******* and the occupied Golan Heights.

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