Hezbollah's Deputy Leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address on October 8 Iran-backed group's capabilities were intact and its fighters were pushing back Israeli ground incursions, despite the 'painful blows' inflicted by Israel in recent weeks.
Qassem has been the group's deputy secretary general for more than 30 yearsHezbollah has announced its deputy secretary general Naim Qassem will succeed Hassan Nasrallah as leader of the group one month after the former chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's executive council, was initially tipped to succeed Nasrallah. After Nasrallah replaced al-Musawi as secretary general, Qassem became one of Hezbollah's leading spokesmen, regularly conducting interviews with foreign media organisations and even penning a book on the group's history in 2005.
He was the most senior Hezbollah official to continue making public appearances after Nasrallah largely went into hiding following the group's 2006 war with Israel, and his rise to Hezbollah chief comes almost exactly one month after Nasrallah died in a bunker underneath the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Security-conscious Nasrallah had long avoided public appearances for fear of assassination, remaining largely hidden from view since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006. But no amount of security precautions would have prevented Israel's air force from wiping their adversary out in his own backyard after IDF chiefs received 'real-time intelligence that Nasrallah was gathering with many senior terrorists', Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said.
Ultimately, it was Nasrallah that was credited with the recovery of southern Lebanon, after Israel withdrew in 2000 after years of exchanges. Months of rocket fire and skirmishes along the border erupted into a wider conflict in September, with Israeli officials declaring the IDF would push Hezbollah back away from the Israeli-Lebanon border to allow displaced Israelis to return to their homes in the north.
He studied theology and joined the Amal movement, a Shiite political and paramilitary organization, before becoming one of Hezbollah's founders.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ranting Hezbollah cleric Naim Qassem who warned Israel of 'long battle' in chilling TV speech is...Hezbollah's Deputy Leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address on October 8 Iran-backed group's capabilities were intact and its fighters were pushing back Israeli ground incursions, despite the 'painful blows' inflicted by Israel in recent weeks.
Read more »
Ranting Hezbollah cleric Naim Qassem who warned Israel of 'long battle' in chilling TV speech is...Hezbollah's Deputy Leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address on October 8 Iran-backed group's capabilities were intact and its fighters were pushing back Israeli ground incursions, despite the 'painful blows' inflicted by Israel in recent weeks.
Read more »
Hezbollah stand-in boss issues chilling TV address from bunker as biggest EVER terror rocket blitz rains...HEZBOLLAH’S acting leader has issued a chilling warning to Israel from inside a hidden bunker - vowing to furiously fight on.Naim Qassem, 71, gave a
Read more »
Israel wipe out Hezbollah smuggling kingpin who oversaw weapons shipments from Iran in latest strike as...Israel kills Hezbollah chief in Beirut strike as ex-PM calls for attack on Iran nuke sites
Read more »
Chilling footage shows inside Hezbollah terror tunnel burrowing from Lebanon into Israel uncovered by...Chilling footage shows inside Hezbollah terror tunnel uncovered by commandos burrowing from Lebanon into Israel
Read more »
Is Iran’s top military chief a TRAITOR? Rumours grow that missing Esmail Qaani is behind Israel’s inc...Terror stabbings and Hezbollah rockets hit north as Israel tipped to directly target Iran power base
Read more »