Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted a picture of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on his X account, threatening him with the words, “temporary appointment, not for very long.”
Qassem, who was the deputy of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was chosen on Tuesday to serve as the organization’s new secretary-general.
"Hezbollah's (governing) Shura Council agreed to elect Sheikh Naim Qassem as secretary general of Hezbollah," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, more than a month after Nasrallah's killing.
Qassem was elected by the five-member Shura Council, the group's main decision-making body, two days before Tuesday's announcement, a source close to Hezbollah said.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said a new Shura Council would be elected after the war.
The council may then opt to elect a new leader or keep Qassem in the top post, the source added.
Hezbollah's Palestinian ally, Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, welcomed Qassem's election. "We consider this election evidence of the party's recovery from the targeting" of its leaders, Hamas said in a statement, pledging "support for the new leadership".
Qassem, 71, was the most senior Hezbollah official to continue making public appearances after Nasrallah largely went into hiding after the group's 2006 war with Israel.
Since Nasrallah's death in a huge Israeli air strike on September 27, Qassem has made three televised addresses, speaking in more formal Arabic than the colloquial Lebanese favored by Nasrallah.
With less charisma and fewer oratorical skills than Nasrallah, Qassem said the group would soon name a new leader.
He claimed Hezbollah's military capabilities were intact, and backed efforts by Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri to broker a ceasefire.
In his most recent speech on October 15, Qassem said a ceasefire was the only way Israel could guarantee the return of its residents to the north.
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