Hassan Nasrallah | |
---|---|
حسن نصر الله | |
Secretary-General of Hezbollah | |
In office 16 February 1992 – 27 September 2024 | |
Deputy | Naim Qassem |
Preceded by | Abbas al-Musawi |
Succeeded by | Hashim Safi Al Din[1] |
Personal details | |
Born | Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon | 31 August 1960
Died | 27 September 2024 Dahieh, Lebanon | (aged 64)
Manner of death | Assassination by airstrike |
Political party | Hezbollah (1982–2024) |
Other political affiliations | Amal (1978–1982) |
Spouse |
Fatima Mustafa Yassine
(m. 1978) |
Children | 5 |
Occupation |
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Signature | |
Part of a series on |
Hezbollah |
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Hassan Nasrallah (Arabic: حسن نصر الله, romanized: Ḥasan Naṣr-Allāh, pronounced [ħasan nasˤralːaːh]; 31 August 1960 – 27 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from February 1992 until his assassination in September 2024.
Born into a Shia family in the suburbs of Beirut in 1960, Nasrallah finished his education in Tyre, when he briefly joined the Amal Movement, and afterward at a Shia seminary in Baalbek. He later studied and taught at an Amal school. Nasrallah joined Hezbollah, which was formed to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. After a brief period of religious studies in Iran, Nasrallah returned to Lebanon and became Hezbollah's leader after his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike in 1992.[2][3]
Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah acquired rockets with a longer range, which allowed them to strike at northern Israel. After Israel suffered heavy casualties during its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, it withdrew its forces in 2000, which greatly increased Hezbollah's popularity in the region, and bolstered Hezbollah's position within Lebanon.[4] Hezbollah cultivated Nasrallah's media image as a charismatic authority, though this image could be weakened, for instance, by his 2013 support for an unpopular Syrian regime and by Arab media supported by the Gulf states.[5] Hezbollah's role in ambushing an Israeli border patrol unit leading up to the 2006 Lebanon War was subject to local and regional criticism, though he projected the end of the war as a Lebanese and Arab victory.[6][5] During the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah fought on the side of the Syrian government against what Nasrallah termed "Islamist extremists". Nasrallah also promoted the "Axis of Resistance", an informal coalition of Iran-backed militias focused on opposing Israel and the United States.[7][neutrality is disputed] Following Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel, he opted to engage in the conflict, initiating attacks on Israel, which resulted in a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that impacted both sides of the border.[8]
On 27 September 2024, the Israel Defense Forces announced that their air force had struck Hezbollah's main headquarters with the goal of assassinating Nasrallah.[9][10] Hezbollah confirmed his death the following day.[11][12]
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