Iran's President: Naim Qassem Will 'Strengthen' Resistance

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, listens to a lawmaker after speaking on his next year's budget bill in an open session of parliament, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, listens to a lawmaker after speaking on his next year's budget bill in an open session of parliament, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran's President: Naim Qassem Will 'Strengthen' Resistance

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, listens to a lawmaker after speaking on his next year's budget bill in an open session of parliament, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, listens to a lawmaker after speaking on his next year's budget bill in an open session of parliament, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday the appointment of Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah chief would "strengthen" the resistance.

Pezeshkian expressed confidence that Qassem's appointment "will strengthen the will of the resistance,” while hoping for "the cessation of aggression by the illegal Zionist regime (Israel) and the establishment of peace, tranquility and security in Gaza, Lebanon, and the entire region," according to his website.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its decision-making Shura Council elected Qassem, 71, as its new secretary-general and vowed to continue Nasrallah’s policies “until victory is achieved.”

Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27, and senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine - considered the most likely successor - was killed in Israeli strikes a week later.

Since Nasrallah's killing, Qassem has given three televised addresses, including one on Oct. 8 in which he said the Iran-backed group supported efforts to reach a ceasefire for Lebanon.



Israel Warns People to Evacuate from More Areas in East, South Lebanon

Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)
Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)
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Israel Warns People to Evacuate from More Areas in East, South Lebanon

Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)
Workers remove the rubble from the site of an Israeli airstrike the previous day that targeted the eastern Lebanese village of Bednayel in the Bekaa valley, on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Sam SKAINEH / AFP)

The Israeli military warned people to evacuate from more areas of the eastern city of Baalbek and south Lebanon, including a built-up Palestinian refugee camp.

Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least ten people in different parts of the country on Thursday.

The Rashidiyeh refugee camp near the port city of Tyre is one of several dating back to the 1948 Mideast war, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven out of what is now Israel.

Israel invaded Lebanon at the start of October, after nearly a year of trading fire with Hezbollah. The group began firing rockets, missiles and drones on northern Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza. Iran backs both groups.

Israel has warned people to evacuate from large areas of the country, including major cities in the south and east. Over a million people have already fled their homes.

Israeli strikes killed seven people in eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News agency. Another strike killed a man on a motorcycle on the coastal highway between Tyre and Sidon.

The news agency also reported a strike on a car on a main highway running through the mountains outside the capital, Beirut. It said the strike in Araya closed the highway, diverting traffic through nearby villages.

Two people were killed in the attack, media reports said.