ALBAWABA - A video claimed to show the inauguration ceremony of Hashem Safieddine as Hezbollah leader following the assassination of secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah went viral online.
People widely circulated the video and claimed that Hezbollah has announced a new leader Hashem, who has been serving as the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council since 2001.
X users posted the video and captioned it: "Footage from the inauguration of the new leader of the Hezbollah party, Hashem Safieddine, Hassan Nasrallah's cousin and Qassem Soleimani's brother-in-law."
Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said in a speech on Monday that his party is expected to pick a new leader "at the earliest opportunity" after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27.
Truth behind inauguration video of Hashem Safieddine as Hezbollah leader
However, the clip circulated earlier online allegedly shows the inauguration of Hashem Safieddine, as Nasrallah's successor is actually untrue in terms of appointing a new Hezbollah leader.
In fact, the video is old and dates back to a military maneuver in May 2023. The video shows what appears to be a ceremony during which the head of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safieddine, receives a rifle in the presence of several party officials and a crowd of invitees.
Despite speculations by experts that Hashem Safieddine will possibly be the successor, the Shura Council, Hezbollah's highest regulatory body consisting of seven members including Safieddine, has not yet appointed the party's secretary-general.
