Qassem had described the continued battle between Hezbollah and Israel as a check of resilience, stating Hezbollah “wouldn’t cry first” regardless of sustaining “painful blows” from Israel. Whereas reaffirming the group’s operational power, he expressed assist for efforts by parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to safe a ceasefire—omitting, for the primary time, a previous insistence on a Gaza truce as a prerequisite for halting Hezbollah’s hearth on Israel.
Israel had earlier killed Hashem Safieddine, who was broadly anticipated to change into the successor of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
In a earlier speech on September 30, Qassem pledged to nominate a successor “on the earliest alternative” and emphasised Hezbollah’s dedication to preventing Israel in solidarity with Palestinians. “What we’re doing is the naked minimal… we all know that the battle could also be lengthy,” he mentioned throughout a 19-minute handle.
All about Naim Kassem
Born in 1953 in Beirut to a household from southern Lebanon, Qassem’s political journey started with the Shi’ite Amal Motion, which he left in 1979 after Iran’s Islamic Revolution impressed a brand new era of Shi’ite activists. He was instrumental within the formation of Hezbollah, established in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon with assist from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. As Hezbollah’s basic coordinator for parliamentary elections since 1992, Qassem additionally authored a 2005 historical past of the group, providing a uncommon insider’s perspective.
Qassem was initially appointed deputy chief by then-secretary basic Abbas al-Musawi in 1991, who was killed in an Israeli helicopter assault the next yr. Qassem remained in his position underneath Nasrallah’s management, establishing himself as a key spokesperson, notably throughout latest cross-border hostilities with Israel.Notably, Qassem’s white turban distinguishes him from Nasrallah and Safieddine, whose black turbans signify their lineage as descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.