BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, leaving a void within a movement that suffered losses among its ranks due to months of Israeli assassinations.
Nasrallah became secretary general of Hezbollah in 1992, at the age of 35, after which he led the movement for most of its existence.
There are two prominent figures being considered as Nasrallah's successors: Hashem Safieddine and Naim Qassem. Here's what you need to know about them.
Hashem Safieddine
Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to his slain cousin Nasrallah, is one of Hezbollah's most prominent figures and has deep religious and family ties to the movement's patron, Iran.
Safieddine bears a striking resemblance to his charismatic maternal cousin Nasrallah, but is several years younger than him and is between 50 and 60 years old.
A source close to Hezbollah, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the gray-bearded, bespectacled Safieddine was the “most likely” candidate for the party's top job.
The United States and Saudi Arabia included Safieddine, a member of Hezbollah's powerful decision-making Shura Council, on their respective lists of designated “terrorists” in 2017.
The US Treasury described him as “a senior leader” of Hezbollah and “a key member” of its executive.
While Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem automatically assumes leadership of Hezbollah after Nasrallah's death, the Shura Council must meet to elect a new secretary general.
Safieddine has strong ties to Iran after undertaking religious studies in Qom.
His son is married to the daughter of General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard who was killed in a US strike in Iraq in 2020.
Safieddine has the title Sayyed, and his black turban marks him, like Nasrallah, as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Unlike Nasrallah, who lived in hiding for years, Safieddine has appeared openly at recent political and religious events.
Naim Qassem
Also in the first position is Qassem, the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah, considered the “number two” of the group.
The 71-year-old was one of the founding members of the fighter group in the early 1980s. He is considered one of Hezbollah's founding religious scholars, having taught religious students in Beirut for decades.
Qassem used to look after the fighters' educational affairs and also supervised their parliamentary activities.
The Iran-backed group's co-founder and then-secretary-general, Abbas al-Musawi, elected him deputy secretary-general in 1991.
