Naim Qassem chosen as Hezbollah leader, succeeding Hassan Nasrallah

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Hezbollah has announced Naim Qassem as its new secretary general, a month after Israel killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in a major air attack on Beirut.
The decision was taken by Hezbollah’s Shura Council, the central decision-making body of the Lebanese armed group and political party. Mr Qassem had been Hezbollah’s long-serving deputy secretary general under Mr Nasrallah.
Mr Qassem was not the first choice to succeed Mr Nasrallah. Hashem Safieddine, Mr Nasrallah’s maternal cousin and head of Hezbollah’s executive council, had been seen as the likely new leader.
However, Mr Safieddine was assassinated days after the killing of Mr Nasrallah in another Israeli bombing of Beirut. Hezbollah only confirmed Mr Safieddine’s death last week.
Mr Qassem was appointed deputy leader in 1991 by Hezbollah’s then-secretary general Abbas Al Musawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack the following year.
He remained in his role when Mr Nasrallah became leader. Since the conflict broke out between Israel and Hezbollah last October, running in parallel with Israel’s war on Gaza, Mr Qassem has been Hezbollah’s main spokesman in international media.
Since the killing of Mr Nasrallah, he has given three speeches via video. He has sought to reassure supporters that Hezbollah remains strong, despite Israel invading south Lebanon, killing most of the group’s senior leadership and destroying swathes of the country.
The Israeli army has only made limited progress in its invasion of south Lebanon under intense fire from Hezbollah units. The militant group has ramped up the scope of its attacks on Israel, hitting military bases near Tel Aviv.