2024-09-28 14:44:01
He led the terrorist organization Hezbollah for 30 years. During this time, Hassan Nasrallah made many enemies far beyond the Middle East. Now he’s dead.
Hassan Nasrallah’s tiresome speeches were notorious. The head of the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists often gave speeches that lasted for hours. He always wore a traditional Shiite robe and a black turban. As a loyal ally of Tehran, the politician and cleric took office as head of the Islamist “Party of God” in his early 30s.
Nasrallah was born in 1960 in a poor area east of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. When the civil war began in Lebanon, his family fled to the south of the country. In 1976 he set off for religious studies in the Iraqi Shiite stronghold of Najaf. However, just two years later, Nasrallah was expelled from the secular Baath Party under then-ruler Saddam Hussein because of his opposition activities.
With the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Hezbollah was formed, which Nasrallah joined. The terrorist group was supported both politically and militarily by Iran. The civil war that continues to shape Lebanon today lasted until the early 1990s. Hezbollah was responsible for devastating attacks and kidnappings during this time. After the death of leader Abbas al-Mussawi, whom Israel assassinated in 1992, he was elected secretary general of the organization.
Since the first election after the end of the civil war in 1992, Hezbollah has also been represented as a party in the Lebanese parliament and it also runs charitable institutions. According to estimates, the military wing includes tens of thousands of fighters. This is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, and in Germany there has been a ban on activity for the entire Hezbollah since 2020.
Nasrallah publicly campaigned primarily against the marginalization of Shiites. His supporters in the Middle East saw the influential secretary general as a spiritual and political mentor. However, in the recent armed conflicts with arch-enemy Israel, Nasrallah appeared increasingly weakened. Israel’s intelligence operations and bombings in Lebanon dealt the organization severe blows.
The fragile peace with neighboring Israel was broken several times under Nasrallah. In 1997, his eldest son died in armed fighting; the loss and “martyrdom” earned Nasrallah respect within the movement. A prisoner swap with Israel in 2004, carried out with German mediation, also contributed to his reputation. In the 2006 Lebanon War, Hezbollah finally revealed its Iranian support with massive rocket attacks.
For years thereafter, Hezbollah under Nasrallah controlled large parts of southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in the northeast and suburbs of the capital Beirut. The UN observation mission Unifil was monitoring the situation on the border with Israel.
After the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7th last year, Hezbollah said it supported the terrorist organization from the Gaza Strip for humanitarian and religious reasons. As a result of the shelling from Lebanon, more than 60,000 Israelis had to flee the border area. Israel recently presented the return of these people as a war aim.
In mid-September, after months of mutual shelling, Israel’s army launched a bombing campaign in Lebanon that killed hundreds of people, including many high-ranking Shiite militia commanders. Israel’s goal was to weaken Hezbollah both personnel and militarily and to pave the way for citizens to return to northern Israel.