Hizbullah Delays Naming Successor to Nasrallah Amid Israeli Strikes

According to sources in Lebanon, Hizbullah is currently governed by a temporary “collective leadership” following the assassination of its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, by Israel. The organization has not yet chosen a successor, and according to the same sources, its leadership is wary of further Israeli attacks. Iran is expected to play a major role in selecting the next leader, but Iran’s adviser in Beirut, Brig. Gen. Esmail Qa’ani, has been missing since an Israeli attack on Hizbullah’s Dahye stronghold on October 4, 2024. Iran claims that Qa’ani is safe and well. An undated photo released by Iranian media shows Qa’ani addressing fighters in an undisclosed location in Syria, and Iranian press suggested he attended a joint exercise between Iranian and Syrian military units.

The Israeli strike on Dahye was directed against Hizbullah official Hashem Safi al-Din, who was regarded as a potential successor to Nasrallah. Safi al-Din is the head of Hizbullah’s Executive Council and a relative of Nasrallah. Israeli intelligence suggests he was killed in an airstrike on Hizbullah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut on October 3, but neither Israel nor Hizbullah has officially confirmed his death.

Sources report that Hizbullah remains deeply shaken by the assassination of Nasrallah and his senior military commanders in an Israeli operation. The timing of the election for a new Secretary-General remains uncertain, with Hizbullah’s top figures reluctant to assume the post because of the potential threat of being targeted by Israel. Ebrahim al-Sayed, head of Hizbullah’s Political Council and considered the third-ranking official in the organization, has reportedly refused the position. According to the report, he fears for his life and has expressed a desire to pursue religious studies in Iran instead.

The Lebanese newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported on October 6, 2024, that Hizbullah had decided to delay the appointment of a new Secretary-General and to keep the current “collective leadership” structure, due to ongoing Israeli assassinations of its senior members. According to lebanese political sources cited in the source, the group is likely led by a council composed of members of Hizbullah’s Shura Council. That supreme council oversees five bodies: the Executive Council, Legal Council, Parliamentary Council, Political Council, and Jihad Council. This leadership structure will remain in place until Hizbullah’s Central Council elects a new secretary-general.

Sources in Yemen report that senior Hizbullah leaders in Lebanon and Syria are considering relocating to Yemen to join the Houthis, fearing that staying in Lebanon leaves them vulnerable to Israeli attacks. These officials believe the Israel Defense Forces will continue targeting them as part of its broader effort to dismantle Hizbullah’s military infrastructure. Senior Israeli security officials, according to the source, believe these leaders are also at risk of assassination.

The source reports that Israel continues to target Hizbullah’s leaders, military commanders and missile arsenals, while conducting ground operations in southern Lebanon aimed at destroying what it describes as the group’s terrorist infrastructure near the Israeli border. The source attributes Israeli success to precise intelligence and deep infiltration into Hizbullah’s upper ranks. Hizbullah, the source says, is struggling to fill the leadership void left by Nasrallah’s death, and whether Hizbullah’s leaders can be relied on to survive the wave of assassinations remains an open question, with Iran playing a significant role in determining the eventual successor.

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