Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah has chosen Naim Qassem to replace long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut last month. He has served as Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General since 1991.

Following the rules of the militant outfit, the Shura Council elected him as the chief of the group. No one knows his whereabouts as he has been underground for quite some time. It has been reported that he has fled to Iran.

Earlier, it was believed that cleric Hashem Safieddine would be made the new Hezbollah chief after Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli attack. However, he was killed in an Israeli attack on October 22.

Will Qassem Favour Ceasefire With Israel?

Earlier this month, Qassem vowed to continue fighting Israel in what it described as a war of attrition, despite painful losses.

The selection of Qassem may be a significant step considering the fact that he favoured the efforts towards achieving a ceasefire in Lebanon, without linking the country’s fate to a ceasefire in Gaza.

This is an important break from the past as Hezbollah had previously regarded it as a precondition to a ceasefire with Israel.

Shia Amal Movement

Born in Beirut, but originating from south Lebanon, Qassem was at first involved with the Lebanese Shia Amal movement. He later became a founding member of Hezbollah in the early 1980s.

Qassem’s selection has come after Tel Aviv killed hundreds of Hezbollah members, the Lebanon-based outfit has claimed to have killed 90 Israeli soldiers.

Israel Warns Qassem

Warning the new Hezbollah chief, Israel wrote on its Arabic-language account that Qassem’s tenure “may be short if he follows in the footsteps” of Nasrallah and Safieddine. Tel Aviv urged Hezbollah to disarm.