Who is Naim Kassem, the acting leader of Hezbollah?

BEIRUT (AP) — Sheikh Naim Kassem has been the acting head of Hezbollah since its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed as part of an Israeli offensive that has taken out many of the Lebanese militant group’s senior officials.

Kassem made a defiant televised speech Tuesday, claiming that the group's military capabilities are intact and Israelis will only suffer further as fighting continues.

Like Nasrallah, Kassem is one of the founding members of the Shiite political party and armed group, but he is widely seen as lacking the former leader’s charisma and oratory skills.

Still, the white-turbaned cleric with a gray beard has often been the public face of the group. After Nasrallah went underground out of fear of being assassinated by Israel, appearing only in televised speeches, Kassem continued to show up at rallies and ceremonies, and he has sat for interviews with foreign journalists.

Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank who researches Hezbollah, said that Kassem is perceived by many as “more extreme” than Nasrallah, at least in his public statements.

In practice, however, his power within the group was limited under Nasrallah. Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah who oversees the group’s political affairs — not Kassem — was generally regarded as the leader's heir apparent. But no announcement has been made, and Safieddine has not appeared publicly or made any public statements since Nasrallah’s death.

Kassem has been sanctioned by the United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist group.

He was born in the town of Kfar Fila in southern Lebanon and studied chemistry at the Lebanese University before working for several years as a chemistry teacher.

At the same time, he pursued religious studies and participated in founding the Lebanese Union for Muslim Students, an organization that aimed to promote religious adherence among students.

In the 1970s, Kassem joined the Movement of the Dispossessed, a political organization founded by Imam Moussa Sadr that pushed for greater representation for Lebanon’s historically overlooked and impoverished Shiite community. The group morphed into the Amal movement, one of the main armed groups in Lebanon’s civil war, and now a powerful political party.

He then joined the nascent Hezbollah, formed with support from Iran after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and occupied the country’s southern region.

From 1991, he served as deputy secretary-general of the group, initially under Nasrallah’s predecessor, Abbas Mousawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack in 1992.

FILE - Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, after casting his vote during Lebanon's parliamentary elections in Beirut, Sunday, May 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

FILE - Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, attends a ceremony in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

FILE - Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, raises his finger after casting his vote during Lebanon's parliamentary elections in Beirut, Sunday, May 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut's southern suburbs, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, listens to a speech by then-leader Hassan Nasrallah on a screen in southern Beirut, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

MILAN (AP) — AC Milan defender Théo Hernandez was suspended for two matches on Tuesday for his actions at the end of Sunday’s Serie A defeat at Fiorentina.

Hernandez protested so vehemently to referee Luca Pairetto after the final whistle that he was shown a straight red card.

The league judge said the France left back directed “a seriously disrespectful criticism to the referee several times and in an agitated manner.”

Hernandez, who has played in all of Milan’s games this season, will miss the home match against Udinese after the international break and the following weekend’s visit to Bologna.

Milan lost at Fiorentina 2-1 in a game which saw three penalties saved. Hernandez had his attempt stopped and also gave away a penalty.

Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino was also sent off, four minutes before fulltime, and he was banned for one game and fined 5,000 euros ($5,500) for “directing a disrespectful criticism towards the match officials with a vehement and agitated attitude.”

Fiorentina's next game is at Lecce.

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Fiorentina's head coach Raffaele Palladino shouts instructions to his players during the Serie A soccer match between Empoli and Fiorentina, at the Carlo Castellani Stadium in Empoli, Italy, Sunday Sept. 29, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's goalkeeper David De Gea saves a penalty kick from Milan's Theo Hernandez, second right, during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Milan, at Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

AC Milan's Theo Hernandez celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Lecce at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)