Hezbollah has announced that the group’s deputy secretary-general will become its new head.
Naim Qassem will replace longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.
He is one of the few senior leaders left after Israel killed most of Hezbollah’s leadership in a series of attacks.
The appointment comes as the Lebanese conflict has escalated in recent weeks.
Naim Qassem served as Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general for more than 30 years and was one of the group’s best-known faces.
Hezbollah said they were selected by the Shura Council in accordance with the organization’s regulations. His whereabouts are unknown, but there are reports that he has fled to Iran, a major supporter of Hezbollah.
He was born in Beirut in 1953 to a family from southern Lebanon.
Qasem, one of Hezbollah’s founding members, has given three televised speeches since Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike.
In one speech, he said a ceasefire was the only way Israel could guarantee the return of residents to the north.
Announcing Qasem’s promotion, Hezbollah issued a statement describing him as “raising the blessed flag in this march.”
The statement also paid tribute to the late Nasrullah and others who died in the conflict.
It was expected that the new leadership of Hezbollah would be taken over by cleric Hashem Saffieddin, but it was revealed on October 22 that he had been killed in an Israeli airstrike about three weeks earlier. .
Reacting to Qasem’s appointment on social media, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said it was a “temporary appointment” that “will not last long.”
Israel has carried out airstrikes across Lebanon in recent weeks, targeting Hezbollah operatives, infrastructure and weapons.
The Israeli military on Monday night carried out airstrikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is strong.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 60 people were killed and more than 50 injured.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the attack.
After nearly a year of cross-border hostilities stemming from the Gaza war, Israel has launched an offensive against Hezbollah, with residents in border areas displaced by Hezbollah rockets, missiles and drone strikes. He said he wanted to ensure the safe return of the people.
More than 2,700 people have been killed and nearly 12,500 injured in Lebanon over the past year, according to the country’s health ministry.
During the same period, Hezbollah attacked Israel with thousands of rockets and drones, killing at least 59 people in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
