Hezbollah has identified two leading candidates have been identified for the position of Secretary-General following Hassan Nasrallah's elimination: Hashim Safi al-Din, Nasrallah's cousin, and Naim Qassem, who has been the deputy leader of the organization since 1991.
Hashim Safi al-Din, 60, currently serves as the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, the organization's executive body, and is also one of the heads of the organization's Shura Council. In 2020, Safi al-Din's son, Rida, married Zainab Soleimani, the daughter of Qassem Soleimani.
In 2018, his name was added to the list of terrorists by the US State Department. He studied theology in Najaf, Iraq, and Qom, Iran until he was called back to Lebanon by Nasrallah in 1994.
Naim Qassem, 71, is one of the founders of the terrorist organization and serves as its deputy leader. His current role is more representative and less executive, and he is considered a senior religious authority within the organization.
The US government previously declared him an international terrorist and prohibited American citizens and businesses from engaging with him.