With Nasrallah killed, Who Will Head Hezbollah Now?

Following the death of top Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during an Israeli attack in Beirut on Friday, speculations are rife about who could possibly be his successor. There is one possible contender. And there might be possibly more. ETV Bharat analyses the possibilities.

New Delhi: With Hezbollah confirming on Saturday that its top leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed during an Israeli attack on the Iran-backed militant group’s headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, the question that arises is who will succeed him now.

According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday afternoon that its secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was martyred in the Israeli strike.

"The Resistance group offered condolences to Imam Mahdi (AS), the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Resistance combatants, and the believers," the report stated. "Hezbollah reaffirmed that it will continue its battle against the enemy, support Gaza and Palestine, and defend Lebanon."

Born into a Shia family in the suburbs of Beirut in 1960, Nasrallah finished his education in Tyre, when he briefly joined the Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party and former militia affiliated mainly with the Shia community of Lebanon, and afterward at a Shia seminary in Baalbek.

He later studied and taught at an Amal school. Nasrallah joined Hezbollah, which was formed to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. After a brief period of religious studies in Iran, Nasrallah returned to Lebanon and became Hezbollah's leader after his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike in 1992.

Now, with Nasrallah also facing the same fate, speculations are rife about who is likely going to take over the leadership of Hezbollah. According to an expert on West Asia, who spoke to ETV on the condition of anonymity, the death of Nasrallah is a huge victory for Israel and a big loss for Iran.

“Normally, in such cases, whoever leads the funeral of a top leader usually becomes the successor," the source explained. This brings into focus Naim Qassem, a Shia Lebanese cleric and politician, who is the second-in-command of Hezbollah with the title of deputy secretary-general.

Qassem is the most immediate and obvious choice to succeed Nasrallah. He has served as Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general since 1991 and is Nasrallah's right-hand man. Qassem is an ideologue and an experienced political leader, with a strong grasp of Hezbollah's internal workings. He has played a critical role in shaping the group's political and ideological trajectory over the years.

Qassem was one of the founders of the Lebanese Muslim Students Union which was established in the 1970s. He joined the Amal movement when it was headed by Imam Musa Sadr. Qassem was the head of the Islamic Religious Education Association from 1974 to 1988. He also served as the advisor for al Mustafa schools. Then Qassem participated in the foundation activities of Hezbollah and was appointed deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1992.

Qassem's long tenure as Nasrallah's deputy ensures he is deeply embedded in the organisation's command structure. He has been involved in key decisions, both militarily and politically.

Qassem was recently in the news when he attended the funeral of Ibrahim Aqil, commander-in-chief of Hezbollah's special operations unit, the Redwan Force, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on September 20.

Addressing the funeral, Qassem said Hezbollah had entered a new phase of its battle with Israel and was "ready to face all military possibilities".

The fight with Israel is now an "open-ended battle of reckoning," he said. "In this phase, we will continue to maintain the supportive front (for Gaza) and the struggle (against Israel) in a creative way," he was quoted as saying. "From time to time we will kill them and fight them — where they expect it and where they don’t."

Qassem vowed that support from Lebanon for Gaza "will continue, no matter how long it takes, until the war in Gaza ends".

"The residents of the north (of Israel) will not return; more residents will have to leave their homes, and the support for Gaza will widen. Israel's 'military solution' will only make things worse for Israel and the residents of the north," he said.

Hezbollah has exchanged near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since it began attacking Israel, on October 8 last year, in support of Hamas after the Palestinian militant group's October 7 invasion and slaughter in Israel triggered the Gaza war. The Hamas attack saw terrorists kill some 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnap 251. The ensuing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas that is nearing a year now has claimed over 41,000 Palestinian lives so far.

Qassem has led Hezbollah's political outreach and negotiations within Lebanon, building relationships with various political factions, including Christian and Sunni groups. His diplomatic skills could help maintain Hezbollah's political influence within Lebanon.

Apart from Qassem, there might be some others who can be in contention for Hezbollah's leadership role. These include Mustafa Mughniyeh, Hashem Safieddine, and Talal Hamiyah.

Mustafa Mughniyeh, the son of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, is another possible successor. Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in 2008, was the architect of Hezbollah’s military operations and the group’s key link to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mustafa, like his father, has risen through Hezbollah’s military ranks and is known to command respect within Hezbollah’s military wing.

Another probable contender could be Hashem Safieddine. A Lebanese Shia cleric, a senior Hezbollah official and a maternal cousin of Nasrallah, Safieddine is the head of Hezbollah's executive council. However, reports have now emerged that he might have been killed in the same attack that claimed the life of Nasrallah. Till the time of filing this report though, this has not been confirmed.

Talal Hamiyah is another name that might be in contention. He is a veteran figure in Hezbollah's foreign military operations. Following Imad Mughniyeh's death in 2008, Hamiyah replaced him as Hezbollah’s chief of staff, and he joined the Jihad Council alongside his responsibilities leading Hezbollah’s foreign operations arm, the External Security Organisation.

However, at the end of the day, one will have to wait for Nasrallah’s funeral. Given what the expert cited above mentioned, doubts will largely be put to rest when one gets to see who leads Nasrallah’s funeral.