Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, had been “targeted for removal”, according to Reuters, after the pro-Iranian group fired on Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel carried out airstrikes on Beirut and urged residents of dozens of villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate after the Hezbollah militant group fired rockets and drones at the Jewish state, opening another front in the widening regional conflict.
Lebanese authorities said more than 30 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday. The Western-backed government in Beirut condemned the attacks and warned citizens against being drawn into further fighting, a message widely seen as urging Hezbollah to avoid escalating the situation.
Israel and the United States began bombing Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In response, Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, launched attacks on Israel. Israel’s military expects clashes to continue for at least several more days, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a video statement.
The Israel Defense Forces said senior Hezbollah officials were among those targeted in the overnight strikes. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem is now being prosecuted for the assassination.
Who is Naim Qassem?
Naim Qassem, born February 1953 in Kfar Kila, is a Lebanese Shia cleric and politician who assumed the role of Secretary General of Hezbollah on October 29, 2024, becoming the fourth person to hold the position. He helped found the group in 1982 and previously served as its first deputy secretary-general from 1991 to 2024.
In 1977, he obtained a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Lebanon and initially worked as a chemistry teacher. He later joined the Amal movement founded by Musa al-Sadr and pursued theological studies under Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.
After the Iranian Revolution, Qassem played a role in the establishment of Hezbollah. In 1991, he was appointed Deputy Secretary General under Abbas al-Musawi and continued in this position under his successor Hassan Nasrallah. Over the years, he managed the party’s election campaigns and became one of its key ideological and intellectual figures.
He was elected Secretary General of Hezbollah on 29 October 2024 after Israel assassinated the group’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in 2024, as well as his presumed successor Hashem Safieddine on 3 October.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials said more than 200 people, including Ali Khamenei and other top leaders, had died since the strikes began.
In response, Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel as well as US military bases around the Persian Gulf. It also targeted the Saudi capital of Riyadh and the global business hub of Dubai. Earlier on Sunday, Iran appointed a 66-year-old cleric to a three-member leadership council that will run the country until a new supreme leader is chosen.
(With input from agencies)
