Hezbollah has named its new leader after former chief Hassan Nasrallah and his replacement were both killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon — as Israel warns the new terror head won’t last long.
Sheikh Naim Kassem, 71, ascended to the top of Hezbollah’s rank on Tuesday as he vowed to continue in Nasrallah’s footsteps “until victory is achieved.”
Kassem, a cleric who served as Hezbollah’s deputy leader for more than three decades, has acted as the face of the terror group, often spewing its rhetoric on TV interviews.
Palestinians receive medical attention at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike on Oct. 28, 2024. AFP via Getty ImagesThe new Hezbollah chief’s appointment comes after Nasrallah was killed in an airstrike in Beirut in late September, with the terror group’s top military executive, Hashem Safieddine, killed a week later.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant threatened that the new leader would also not last long.
“Temporary appointment. Not for long,” Gallant posted on X with a photo of Kassem.
While Kassem should have been next in line after his leader’s death, Safieddine was initially the one tapped to succeed Nasrallah – as Kassem was widely seen by supporters as lacking his predecessor’s charisma and oratory skills.
Kassem’s successful appointment suggests Hezbollah has managed to reorganize itself amid Israel’s heavy attacks across southern Lebanon and blows to the terror group’s leadership in recent months.
Israel had claimed the terror group was scrambling to stay afloat, with some analysts claiming Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was now leading Hezbollah.
Prior to taking the reins, Kassem had touted that Hezbollah was more than ready to take on Israel, claiming the Jewish state did not have the means to engage in a prolonged two-front war.
As the fighting in Lebanon rages on, renewed attention has been placed on the Israel Defense Forces operation in northern Gaza, where Hamas continues to return despite more than a year of intense fighting.
At least 34 people were killed during the latest Israeli airstrike in the area on Tuesday, more than half of whom were women and children, according to the Hamas-run ministry of health.
Medics evacuate injured people and cancer patients from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Oc. 28, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians inspect the damage after an overnight Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahia the northern Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, 2024. AFP via Getty ImagesThe strike left another 20 people injured, with Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, lamenting that the facility was overwhelmed by the wounded flooding the hospital.
The IDF did not comment on the strike, but officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks on shelters are launched with measures to avoid harming civilians.
Despite the precautions, women and children still fall victim, with the greatest casualties recently seen at the Jabaliya refugee camp.
A picture shows the damage to an ambulance at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia the northern Gaza Strip on Oct. 26, 2024. AFP via Getty ImagesMore than 43,000 Palestinians have died since the war began following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, with health officials not differentiating between terrorists and civilians.
An Israeli estimate from earlier this month indicated that about 17,000 Hamas fighters have been killed since Oct. 7.
About 367 Israeli soldiers have also been killed in the ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
With Post wires
