Portrait: Hassan Nasrallah, head and co-founder of Hezbollah, is dead

Portrait of Hezbollah chief
He was the most powerful man in Lebanon: Hassan Nasrallah is dead

He was considered the most powerful man in Lebanon, the master of war and peace: Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah led the organization for around three decades. It is now clear that he is among the victims of the Israeli airstrike on Friday evening.

Israel’s military initially said it had killed Nasrallah and other senior commanders in the massive attack on Hezbollah headquarters and other buildings in Beirut. On Saturday afternoon, Hezbollah also confirmed Nasrallah’s death.

Hassan Nasrallah: A life in secret

The Hezbollah leader’s whereabouts have been a mystery to observers for years. Since the war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, he has rarely appeared in public. Journalists who met him reported that they were taken to unidentifiable locations in darkened cars. Nasrallah’s speeches were recorded and broadcast from an unknown, anonymized location.

However, the game of hide-and-seek does not prevent him from knowing the mood of the people, Nasrallah told the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper “Al Akhbar” in 2014: “The purpose of security measures is to keep my whereabouts secret, but that doesn’t stop me from to come around and see what’s going on.” He doesn’t live in a bunker, Nasrallah added, but simply changes his sleeping places.

On site

Israeli airstrikes
Walls shake, thousands wander through the streets – Beirut becomes a war zone

3 hours ago

As a founding member of Hezbollah, which has existed since 1982 and as its leader since his election as Secretary General in 1992, the 64-year-old enjoyed cult status among his followers. He achieved this, among other things, with the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in 2000. The army gave up its occupation of the border strip after 22 years, not least because Hezbollah had continuously shelled its positions.

Little sympathy for Nasrallah’s support of Assad

The UN-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 also made Nasrallah popular in the Arab world. However, the announcement in 2013 that fighters were being sent to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the neighboring country was met with less enthusiasm.

On site

Lebanon crisis
Sleepless in Beirut: Is it just a thunderstorm – or is it war?

September 26, 2024

Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah transformed from a guerrilla force into the main political force in Lebanon, also represented in parliament and the government. According to its own information, the Shiite militia allied with Iran has 100,000 members. Hezbollah also has a huge arsenal of weapons.

Secular Lebanese criticized Nasrallah

The militia is popular with many Shiites in their strongholds in Lebanon because it supports the needy and finances health and education. However, many secular Lebanese criticize Hezbollah.

Nasrallah was born on August 31, 1960 in the poor northern Beirut suburb of Burj Hammud and grew up as one of nine children. His father was a grocer in a village in southern Lebanon. As a teenager, Nasrallah studied theology in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, which is holy for Shiites. He left the country again during the persecution of Shiites under Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

Hassan Nasrallah was a co-founder of Hezbollah

Back in Lebanon, Nasrallah first joined the Shiite Amal movement. In 1982, when Israeli troops invaded Lebanon, he and others founded Hezbollah (Party of God), which was already supported by Iran. In 1992, at the age of 32, Nasrallah took over leadership of the militia after its previous leader, Abbas al-Mussawi, was killed by arch-enemy Israel.

During his rare appearances, the cleric always appeared in traditional robes and with the black turban that identified him as a “sajd,” a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. Nasrallah was married and had five children. His eldest son Hadi died in combat in 1997.

This article has been updated several times.

che / urb / Acil Tabbara (AFP)
AFP