Naim Kassem replaces Nasrallah as Hezbollah chief


Gaza, Oct 30: Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group on Tuesday said it chose Naim Kassem to replace its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.
Kassem, a longtime deputy to Nasrallah, has served as the militant group’s acting leader since Nasrallah’s death.
The group said in a statement that Hezbollah’s decision-making Shura Council elected Kassem, who had been Nasrallah’s deputy leader for over three decades, as the new secretary-general.
Hezbollah vowed to continue with Nasrallah’s policies “until victory is achieved”.
Meanwhile, Lebanon continued to receive donations from different countries to support the Lebanese government amid the escalation of the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict.
Lebanon received a second airplane from Pakistan carrying 17 tons of food and medical supplies, according to the Lebanese official National News Agency (NNA) on Sunday.
Mohammad Kheir, secretary general of Lebanon’s Higher Relief Committee, said that the donation from Pakistan expresses the depth of the historical relations between the Lebanese and Pakistani people, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lebanon also received from Saudi Arabia the 14th airplane carrying relief aid, including food, shelter, and medical supplies, as part of the Saudi air bridge operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, according to NNA.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army also received two planes carrying humanitarian aid provided by Jordan and the first shipment of the second fuel grant provided by Qatar.