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Hezbollah has a new leader. He replaces Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime head of the Iran-backed militant and political group who was killed by a massive Israeli airstrike in Lebanon in September. NPR's Arezou Rezvani reports on the new face of Hezbollah.
AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE: Naim Qassem was never really meant to lead Hezbollah, but Israel has killed so much of the group's top brass in recent weeks that he was pretty much the last man standing.
LINA KHATIB: One of the key things about the new leader of Hezbollah is how uninteresting he is.
REZVANI: That's Lina Khatib. She's a fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. She says Qassem lacks the charisma and magnetism Nasrallah had, as well as his religious standing. He wears a white turban, signifying no lineage that can be traced back to the prophet Muhammad. But the 70-year-old cleric, who was Nasrallah's longtime deputy, does offer a steady and familiar hand at a time of great uncertainty.
KHATIB: Even though he is not considered to be very remarkable, he is respected by Hezbollah's constituents. So in a way, Hezbollah wants to reassure this community by conveying a sense of continuity and a sense of resilience.
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NAIM QASSEM: (Non-English language spoken).
REZVANI: In his first televised speech this week as Hezbollah's new leader, Qassem vowed to carry on his predecessor's vision and to keep fighting Israel. As he spoke, Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes in Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek after tens of thousands of residents fled following evacuation orders by Israel's military. Under Qassem, the war goes on, but his years of political experience suggests there is also a way out with him at the helm.
KHATIB: Hezbollah has not changed course and selected, for example, a primarily military leader, which is, for instance, what Hamas did with their selection of the now-assassinated Yahya Sinwar. I think Hezbollah knows a political exit is going to be the only way out eventually and is preparing itself for that scenario.
REZVANI: With so many of Hezbollah's top leaders now gone, time is not on Naim Qassem's side. Soon after he was announced to be the head of Hezbollah, Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, weighed in with a not-so-subtle threat. He said on Twitter that it would be a, quote, "temporary appointment" that wouldn't last long.
Arezou Rezvani, NPR News, Beirut.
(SOUNDBITE OF BADBADNOTGOOD AND GHOSTFACE KILLAH SONG, "SOUR SOUL") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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