Hezbollah names Naim Kassem as new chief to replace Nasrallah
Beirut, Oct 29: Hezbollah announced Tuesday it has chosen cleric Naim Kassem to lead the Lebanese group after the killing of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb in late September.
The group said in a statement that Hezbollah's decision-making Shura Council elected Kassem, 71, as its new secretary-general and vowed to continue Nasrallah's policies “until victory is achieved.”
Since Nasrallah's death as part of an Israeli offensive that took out many of Hezbollah's senior officials, the white-turbaned cleric with a gray beard has often been the public face of the Lebanese group. He is one of its founding members but is widely seen by supporters as lacking his predecessor's oratory skills.
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X after the announcement about Kassem: “Temporary appointment. Not for long.” It was a clear threat that Israel will go after Kassem as it did earlier by assassinating top Hezbollah officials.
In a televised speech earlier this month, Kassem, who carries the clerical title of sheikh, claimed Hezbollah's military capabilities were intact after Nasrallah's assassination and warned Israelis they will only suffer further as fighting continues.
Kassem has been sanctioned by the United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist group. His appointment came as no surprise since he had served as Nasrallah's deputy for 32 years and had also long been Hezbollah's public face, giving interviews to local and foreign media outlets.
“This is a message to Lebanon and abroad that Hezbollah has reorganized itself,” said Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah.
Kassem's appointment shows Hezbollah is running its own affairs and not — as some have reported — that advisers from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard are now in charge of the group, Qassir added.
In an interview with The Associated Press in July, Kassem said he didn't believe that Israel had the capacity — or had yet made the decision — to launch a full-blown war with Hezbollah. But he warned that even if Israel intended to undertake a limited operation in Lebanon that stopped short of a full-scale war, it should not expect the fighting to remain limited.
A day after Hamas-led group stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 as hostages, Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts along the border with Lebanon, saying it was opening a backup front for its Hamas allies.
The attack triggered the yearlong Israel-Hamas war and Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but more than half of the dead are said to be women and children.
“No one knows the consequences of igniting the war in Lebanon, regionally and even internationally,” Kassem said at the time, speaking from the group's political headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs.
He said he was proud of Hezbollah's achievements in its “support front” for Hamas, saying it “required sacrifices on our part.”
Less than three months later, Israel expanded the war in Lebanon, leaving hundreds dead and more than 1.2 million people displaced. The invasion has caused wide destruction in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs that are home to Hezbollah's headquarters. Israeli troops engage in daily fierce clashes with Hezbollah in the border region as they try to push deeper into south Lebanon.
Hezbollah is still firing dozens of rockets and missiles into northern Israel and in recent days claimed an attack on an Israeli military base south of Tel Aviv. It also claimed responsibility for a drone attack that hit the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month. No one was hurt in that attack.
Born in 1953 in the town of Kfar Fila in southern Lebanon, Kassem studied chemistry at the Lebanese University before working for several years as a chemistry teacher. He simultaneously pursued religious studies and participated in founding the Lebanese Union for Muslim Students, an organization meant to promote religion.
In the 1970s, he joined the Movement of the Dispossessed, a political organization that pushed for greater representation for Lebanon's historically overlooked and impoverished Shiite community.
The group morphed into the Amal movement, one of the main armed groups in Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war and now a powerful political party led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Kassem then joined the nascent Hezbollah, formed with support from Iran after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and occupied the country's southern region.
From 1991, Kassem served as the group's deputy, initially under Nasrallah's predecessor, Abbas Mousawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack in 1992.
The choice of Kassem to take the helm of Hezbollah came a week after it confirmed that Hashem Safieddine — a top figure who had been widely expected to succeed Nasrallah — was killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Beirut earlier this month.
Safieddine was Nasrallah's cousin and had close links to Iran, where he spent years of his life. Safieddine's son, Rida, is married to Zeinab Soleimani, the daughter of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq in 2020.
“We ask God to help him in the great mission in leading Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance,” Hezbollah said in its statement about Kassem.
In another blow to Hezbollah, thousands of communication devices used by its members — both fighters and workers with the group's civilian institutions — exploded near-simultaneously in mid-September, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Israel was blamed for the attack that left scores with permanent disabilities.
Choosing Kassem is "proof that Hezbollah is not scared regarding the developments,” Qassir also said.
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Kerala lynching: CM assures justice, CPI (M) targets RSS-BJP over incident
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Monday assured stringent action in the mob lynching of a Chattisgarh native mistaken to be a thief, and promised justice to the family, even as the ruling CPI(M) targeted the RSS over the assault, a charge denied by the BJP.
Ramnarayan (31), was allegedly beaten to death on Wednesday after being accused of involvement in theft at Kizhakeattappallam near Walayar in Palakkad district.
With the issue sending shock waves across the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday described the incident as "deeply disturbing".
Assuring justice to his family, who have arrived in the state, Vijayan said such acts tarnish the reputation of a progressive society like Kerala and are completely unacceptable.
State minister M B Rajesh claimed racial slurs were made at the victim and that the attackers were RSS workers. Ruling CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan also alleged that RSS-BJP workers were behind the crime.
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In a statement issued by the CM's office, Vijayan said strict action would be taken against those responsible for the crime.
A special investigation team of the district police is probing the incident, he said, adding that instructions have been issued to thoroughly examine the details of the case and initiate all necessary legal proceedings.
The government will also review the matter and ensure appropriate compensation to the victim's family, Vijayan added.
He called for collective vigilance to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
His remarks came a day after opposition Congress and the victim's family demanded compensation and an investigation under stringent laws, including the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The brother of deceased man told reporters on Sunday that the family would not accept the body until their demands, including compensation of Rs 25 lakh, are met.
Kerala ministers K Rajan and Rajesh strongly condemned the incident and said it was not just a mob lynching case but racial abuse was involved in it.
The ministers said the accused had attacked the deceased man, calling him a "Bangladeshi" and beat him to death.
"The government will ensure a foolproof probe into the incident, and no one involved in the crime will be spared," Revenue Minister Rajan told reporters in Thrissur.
He said an amount not less than Rs 10 lakh would be granted from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to the deceased man's family and a cabinet meeting would take a decision in this regard.
LSGD Minister Rajesh also said Ramnarayan was branded as a Bangladeshi by the attackers.
While talking to reporters in Palakkad, he alleged that those who brutally assaulted and killed Ramnarayan were RSS workers.
The Chhattisgarh native, who reached Kerala in search of a job, became a victim of the "divisive politics" of Sangh Parivar, Rajesh further alleged.
"Branding a person as Bangladeshi came from racial politics. Ramnarayan was a victim of the racial poison spread by the Sangh Parivar in the country," he charged.
Rajesh also accused a section of the media of hiding the involvement of the RSS in the assault.
Stepping up the attack against the right-wing groups, CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged that RSS-BJP workers were the ones behind the crime.
"Those involved in the incident were accused in various criminal cases of RSS. All of them were identified. Such cruelties should not be allowed to repeat in the state," he said.
Expressing strong protest, the senior leader further said a society which believes in democratic values and secular principles cannot accept such crimes.
Senior BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan strongly rejected the charges against the saffron party and the RSS.
"Actually, why is politics mixed in such crimes. When a heinous crime like mob lynching happens, should it not be treated as an anti-social act," he told reporters here.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan urged the government to take urgent steps to provide financial assistance to the family of Ramnarayan.
Meanwhile, Palakkad Superintendent of Police Ajit Kumar said at present, the case was registered under sections of murder, and after a detailed probe, more would be added.
After verifying the caste certificate of the deceased man, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act would also be invoked, he told reporters in Palakkad.
A 10-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed under the DSP (district crime branch) to probe the mob lynching incident. The SIT will be under the direction and supervision of the Pakakkad SP, he added.
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When reporters asked about the political background of the accused persons, the officer said it was being verified.
He said that the arrested persons were already facing police cases.
Five people have been arrested so far for allegedly beating Ramnarayan to death on suspicion of theft.
The injured man was rushed to the Palakkad District Government Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
