In his first televised address as newly elected Secretary General of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that his leadership of the Lebanese resistance group will be a continuation of the leadership of his predecessor, Hasan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israel on September 28. Qassem affirmed that Hezbollah has not changed course despite the heavy blows it suffered with Israel’s assassination of several of its top military leaders, Nasrallah included.
Qassem said in his statement that Hezbollah was engaged in the current confrontation with Israel to support Palestinians in Gaza and defend Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollah intelligence prior to the October 7 attacks a year ago indicated Israel was willing and planning to attack Lebanon. Hezbollah’s entry into the war by opening the “support front” for Gaza on October 8, 2023, took Israel by surprise, Qassem said.
The Hezbollah Secretary General stated that the organization had the capacity to “fight for days, weeks, and months.”
Hezbollah announced the election of Qassem on Tuesday more than a month after the assassination of his iconic predecessor, who was the longest-yet-serving Secretary General before his death. Coinciding with the announcement of Qassem’s succession, Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets at the central and western Galilee.
Naim Qassem is the fourth Secretary General of Hezbollah. He was part of the first wave of young Lebanese to join the organization following its founding in 1982 in the wake of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. He joined the movement’s leading body, the Shura Council, and later became Deputy Secretary General under Hezbollah’s second leader, Abbas Musawi. After Musawi’s assassination by Israel in 1992, Qassem continued to serve as Deputy under Nasrallah during his 32-year-long reign.
Qassem’s election came amid the resumption of reported U.S. attempts to reach a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, while Israel’s ground offensive on the south of Lebanon still hasn’t made significant progress almost a month into its beginning. On Thursday, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Israel amidst reports about a possible deal drafted by Israel and the U.S. According to the reports, the proposal is based on introduced amendments to UN Resolution 1701, which ended Israel’s war in Lebanon in 2006. The new proposal reportedly includes a new condition presented by Israel which would grant Israel freedom of military action in Lebanon’s airspace and territory at any moment in the future.
In his speech, Naim Qassem commented on media reports that a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was within reach, calling these claims “noise without results.” Qassem insisted that no such deal existed and that Hezbollah’s position was unwavering: hold a ceasefire first, then negotiate the details. Qassem also reaffirmed the movement’s support for Gaza and gave no indication of his readiness to separate the two fronts during any coming negotiations.
Of course they are willing to fight for weeks and months, Iran is willing to fight the Israelis down to the very last Lebanese.