New Hezbollah leader won’t last ‘long’, Israel defence minister says
Yoav Gallant warns the ‘countdown has begun’ for Naim Qassem, who is replacing assassinated militant chief Hassan Nasrallah
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, that his appointment was “not for long”.
“Temporary appointment. Not for long,” Gallant wrote in a post on social media on Tuesday alongside a photograph of Qassem, whom Hezbollah had earlier named as assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah’s successor.
In a separate post in Hebrew, Gallant wrote that the “countdown has begun”.
Qassem was elected by the five-member Shura Council, the group’s main decision-making body, two days before Tuesday’s announcement, a source close to Hezbollah said.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said a new Shura Council would be elected after the war.
