Who is Hezbollah’s acting leader after Israel killed group’s chief Nasrallah?
Naim Qassem assumes a prominent role in Lebanon as Israel targets Hezbollah’s leaders with strikes
Naim Qassem has been the acting head of Hezbollah since its long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed as part of an Israeli offensive that has taken out many of the Lebanese militant group’s senior officials.
Qassem made a defiant televised speech Tuesday, claiming that the group’s military capabilities are intact and Israelis will only suffer further as fighting continues.
Like Nasrallah, Qassem is one of the founding members of the Shiite political party and armed group, but he is widely seen as lacking the former leader’s charisma and oratory skills.
Still, the white-turbaned cleric with a grey beard has often been the public face of the group. After Nasrallah went underground out of fear of being assassinated by Israel, appearing only in televised speeches, Qassem continued to show up at rallies and ceremonies, and he has sat for interviews with foreign journalists.
Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre think tank who researches Hezbollah, said that Qassem is perceived by many as “more extreme” than Nasrallah, at least in his public statements.
