Middle East latest: Hezbollah picks a new leader and Israel bombs southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has chosen Sheikh Naim Kassem as its leader after longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli airstrike last month, as the militant group vowed Tuesday to continue “until victory is achieved.” Kassem, 71, had been Nasrallah’s deputy leader for over three decades.

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed six people in the port city of Sidon and wounded dozens, while a strike in a nearby town killed eight people and wounded at least 21, the Health Ministry and state media reported.

Lebanon's Heath Ministry said more than 2,790 people have been killed and 12,700 wounded since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October.

The death toll from more than a year of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has passed 43,000, Palestinian officials reported Monday, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.