Photo: Reuters file

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general who was elected head of the Lebanese armed group on Tuesday, has been a prominent figure within the movement for over three decades. In a televised address from an undisclosed location on October 8, Qassem declared that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is a battle of endurance, with Hezbollah determined not to be the first to falter. Despite sustaining 'painful blows' from Israel, the group's strength remains undiminished, he asserted. Qassem also expressed support for Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's efforts to broker a ceasefire, marking a departure from previous conditions that linked such efforts to a Gaza truce deal.

Qassem's 30-minute broadcast came shortly after senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine was believed to have been targeted in an Israeli strike, and 11 days following the assassination of Hezbollah's long-serving secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. Safieddine's death was confirmed by Hezbollah on October 23. Qassem was appointed deputy chief in 1991 by then-secretary general Abbas al-Musawi, who was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack the following year. He retained his position when Nasrallah took leadership and has been one of Hezbollah's primary spokesmen, frequently engaging with foreign media during periods of heightened cross-border tensions with Israel.

Qassem's October 8 address was his second since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in September. He was the first member of Hezbollah's top leadership to speak publicly after Nasrallah's killing in an Israeli air raid on Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27. In a speech on September 30, Qassem vowed that Hezbollah would swiftly appoint a successor to its slain leader and continue its fight against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians. 'What we are doing is just the beginning... We understand that this struggle may be protracted,' he stated in a 19-minute speech.

Born in 1953 in Beirut to a family from Lebanon's south, Qassem's political journey began with the Lebanese Shi'ite Amal Movement. He parted ways with the group in 1979 following Iran's Islamic Revolution, which profoundly influenced many young Lebanese Shi'ite activists. Qassem was involved in the meetings that led to the formation of Hezbollah, established with the support of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. He has served as the general coordinator of Hezbollah's parliamentary election campaigns since the group's first participation in 1992. In 2005, he authored a history of Hezbollah, providing a rare 'insider's perspective' on the organization.

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