Who will be the next chief of Hezbollah: Saifuddin, who has been with Nasrallah since childhood, is at the forefront; Qasim, who teaches Islam, is also in the race
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah died in an Israeli attack on Friday, September 27. Israel used 80 tons of bombs on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut city of Lebanon. Apart from Nasrallah, many senior officers of Hezbollah were also killed in this attack. Among them was Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front.
After Nasrallah’s death, the post of Hezbollah’s Secretary General (organization head) is vacant. Nasrallah became the head of the organization in 1992. He was one of the prominent faces of the Shia movement in Lebanon. The death of Nasrallah, who was the most important face of Hezbollah for three decades, has dealt a big blow to the organization.
Besides Nasrallah and Karaki, Hezbollah’s top military commander Fuad Shukar (on July 30) and the founder of the elite commando unit Ibrahim Aqeel (on September 20) have also been killed.
In such a situation, the big question is who will be the next chief of Hezbollah… After most of the top leadership of Hezbollah were killed, two names are leading in this race. The first of these is Hashem Saifuddin and the second is Naeem Qasim.
Hashem Safieddine: Leading contender for Hezbollah chief
Hashem Saifeddine is the front-runner for the next secretary general of Hezbollah Chief. Saifeddine is a member of Hezbollah’s Executive Council and a cousin of Hassan Nasrallah.
He was born in 1964 in the Lebanese city of Der Kanun al-Nahar. Saifuddin and Nasrallah both received religious education together. Both of them studied together in major Shia educational centers like Qom in Iran and Najaf in Iraq.
Both Nasrallah and Saifeddine joined Hezbollah in its early days. Both were recalled from Iran during Islamic studies in the 1990s. In 1992, Nasrallah became Hezbollah’s secretary general.
For the last 3 decades, Saifuddin has been looking after Hezbollah’s funding and education. Nasrallah, on the other hand, looked after the strategic matters of the organization. Because of this, he seems to be ahead in the race to become the next chief.
In addition, Saifuddin comes from a prominent Shia family. Many of his family members have been Shia religious scholars and members of the Lebanese Parliament. Saifuddin’s brother Abdullah serves as Hezbollah’s representative in Iran. Saifuddin also has close ties with Iran.
Saifuddin’s son Redha is married to the daughter of former Iranian military general Qasem Soleimani. Qasem Soleimani was killed in an attack by the US in 2020.
Hezbollah’s number 2 Qassim is also in the race Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general Naim Qassim (71) is also in the race to become the head of the organization. Qassim is also known as the number 2 of the Shia movement in Lebanon and Hezbollah. Qassim was born in 1953 in the Kafar Kila village of Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon.
In the 1970s, Qassim became part of the Shia Amal movement in Lebanon along with Imam Musa al-Sadr. He later joined the Hezbollah movement in the early 1980s and was among the founding members of the organization.
Qassim has been teaching religious education in Beirut for decades. Qassim became Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general in 1991. He is also a member of Hezbollah’s Sura Council.
The dead body of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli attack, has been found. Medical and security teams have recovered Nasrallah’s body from the site of the attack. According to news agency Reuters, there are no direct marks of attack on Nasrallah’s body. Trauma caused by a loud explosion is believed to be the reason behind his death.
Hassan Nasrallah, whom Israel used to call its enemy number-1, has been killed. He had threatened to take revenge from Israel in a speech given on September 19. Nasrallah had said-
Israel tried to commit genocide in Lebanon with pager blasts. They will pay the price for this, attack will be done at the right place, right time and right way
He was killed on September 27, the 8th day after this speech. Nasrallah was only 15 years old when he first took up arms against Israel.
