Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah
حسن نصر الله
Nasrallah in 2019
Secretary-General of Hezbollah
In office
16 February 1992 – 27 September 2024
DeputyNaim Qassem
Preceded byAbbas al-Musawi
Succeeded byNaim Qassem (acting)
Personal details
Born(1960-08-31)31 August 1960
Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon
Died27 September 2024(2024-09-27) (aged 64)
Dahieh, Lebanon
Manner of deathAssassination by airstrike
Political partyHezbollah (1982–2024)
Other political
affiliations
Amal (1978–1982)
Spouse
Fatima Mustafa Yassine
(m. 1978)
Children5
Occupation
Signature

Hassan Nasrallah (Arabic: حسن نصر الله, romanizedḤasan 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.[1][2]

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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5][4] 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.[6][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.[7]

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.[8][9] Hezbollah confirmed his death the following day.[10][11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlJazeeraprofile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Hezbollah". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  3. ^ "What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?". BBC News. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Norton, Augustus R. (2018). Hezbollah: a short history. Princeton studies in Muslim politics (3rd ed.). Princeton Oxford: Princeton University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-691-18088-5.
  6. ^ "Hassan Nasrallah's death will reshape Lebanon and the Middle East". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  7. ^ Goldenberg, Tia; Shurafa, Wafaa (8 October 2023). "Hezbollah and Israel exchange fire as Israeli soldiers battle Hamas on second day of surprise attack". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Israel says it struck Hezbollah's headquarters in huge explosion that shakes Lebanese capital". AP News. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  9. ^ الشرق (27 September 2024). "إعلام إسرائيلي وأميركي: حسن نصر الله هو المستهدف من الغارات على بيروت | الشرق للأخبار". Asharq News (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ap20240928 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "حزب الله يعلن رسميا استشهاد حسن نصرالله". Saraya (in Arabic). 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.