Hezbollah elects new leader after Israeli killing of Nasrallah | Hezbollah

Hezbollah has chosen its deputy secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, as its new chief, ending a months-long vacuum after the group's longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed by Israel.

Since Nasrallah's death, Qassem has stepped in for him, giving a public address earlier this month in which he promised that despite painful losses, Hezbollah would continue to fight Israel in a so-called war of attrition.

At the same time, Qassem said he supported efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon without tying the country's fate to a ceasefire in Gaza, which Hezbollah had previously said was a prerequisite for a cessation of hostilities with Israel.

Qassem has been the group's deputy general secretary since 1991 and is one of its most public representatives, often speaking on the group's behalf at rallies and interviews. Qassem grew up in Beirut, although his family comes from southern Lebanon. He initially became involved in the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement before becoming a founding member of Hezbollah in the early 1980s.

His election has ended a succession crisis within Hezbollah and is one of signs that the group is regrouping after a series of blows from Israel. Nasrallah's last presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine, has been missing for nearly a month after Hezbollah said he was killed in an Israeli bombing raid in Beirut's southern suburbs on October 3.

Qassem has inherited a group that has been left behind by a fierce Israeli offensive and no longer has the status it once enjoyed in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has been rocked by explosions targeting its communications equipment that injured thousands of its members last month, as well as hundreds of Israeli attacks on its weapons depots across the country. Almost all senior military leaders have been killed by Israel in the last three months.

The group has been engaged in heavy fighting in southern Lebanon with Israeli forces, who have been conducting what Israel described as a “limited” operation along the Lebanese-Israeli border since September 30.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Unifil, has been caught in the crossfire of these fighting. On Tuesday, Unifil said a rocket hit its headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, and was “probably fired by Hezbollah or a group affiliated with it.” Eight Austrian peacekeepers suffered minor injuries and a garage was set on fire. Its base in Naqoura has already been hit by rocket fire last year, with incidents likely attributed to the activities of Hezbollah or affiliated militias, according to Unifil.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry “condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms”; Unifil says it has launched an investigation into the incident.

Unifil has come under fire over a dozen times in the last month. They have accused Israel of targeting and in some cases injuring its peacekeepers.

Israel said it has killed hundreds of Hezbollah members since September 30, while Hezbollah has stopped issuing public funeral notices for its fighters for operational security reasons. Hezbollah has claimed to have killed 90 Israeli soldiers, while Israeli media puts the number at around 37.

Shortly after his appointment, the Israeli government's Arabic-language account issued a warning

As Hezbollah and Israel trade blows in southern Lebanon, Israeli warplanes continue to bomb parts of the country.

On Tuesday, Israel bombed a medical center at the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Center in Nabatea, completely destroying it. No casualties have been reported yet.

The night before, According to the region's governor, Israel carried out more than 37 airstrikes in Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, killing at least 67 people and wounding more than 120. More than two thirds of the dead and wounded were women and children. It was the bloodiest day for the region since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began a year earlier.

Videos from the town of Brital in Baalbek show a street with collapsed buildings and clouds of smoke rising from areas where bombs fell the night before.

Baalbek is famous for its archaeological sites, most notably the Baalbek Temple complex, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The bombing on Monday evening damaged one of the gates of Baalbek Castle, but the interior of the temple complex remained undamaged.

The Bekaa Valley has historically been an area where Hezbollah has enjoyed support and the group maintains weapons caches there. However, it is one of Lebanon's largest geographical areas and is politically and religiously diverse.

Since Israel began its intensive air campaign in Lebanon on September 23, the Bekaa Valley has been one of the most frequently attacked areas outside southern Lebanon. Since fighting began on October 8, 2023, more than 2,710 people have been killed and at least 12,600 injured in Lebanon.