Who is Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah?
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters in a rare public appearance during a religious ceremony on the eve of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs November 13, 2013. (Reuters/Hasan Shaaban)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is presumed dead following Israeli airstrikes on the group’s stronghold in Dahieh. Reports indicate that his daughter, Zainab Nasrallah, was also killed in the attack.
Nasrallah, who has led Hezbollah since 1992, remains a pivotal figure in the organization’s long-standing conflict with Israel.
Born into poor Shiite family
Born into a modest Shiite family in Beirut on August 31, 1960, Nasrallah’s early life was shaped by Lebanon’s turbulent history.
His family, originally from Tyre, had moved to Beirut for work but returned to their village when the civil war erupted in 1975. At just 15, Nasrallah joined the Shiite Amal Movement, marking the beginning of his political and militant career.
Rise to leadership
After studying in Shiite religious centers in Iraq and Iran, he returned to Lebanon and joined Hezbollah following Israel’s 1982 invasion. He is deemed as one of the young founders of the organization.
In 1992, after the assassination of Abbas Musawi by Israel, Nasrallah became Hezbollah’s leader. Five years later, Hezbollah was declared a terrorist organization by the United States.
Under his leadership, Hezbollah played a key role in ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000 and during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, boosting Nasrallah’s stature in the region.
His involvement in prisoner exchanges with Israel further solidified his reputation.
He and his organization are accused of holding Lebanon hostage to Iran’s regional agenda. By dominating local politics with a paramilitary force, Nasrallah is often blamed for the chronic deadlock in Lebanon’s political landscape.
The organization controls many powerful institutions and local forces, exploiting the fragility of Lebanon’s political system and the weakness of its national army.
Despite gaining popularity due to Hezbollah’s resistance against Israel’s attacks, Hezbollah under his command is seen as the sole responsible force in the killings of tens of thousands of Syrian civilians due to secterian conflict.
Displacing millions in Syria
Nasrallah’s popularity diminished significantly after Hezbollah supported the regime led by Bashar Assad during Syria’s civil war, sparking widespread criticism. While still revered by millions of Shiite followers, he is largely despised by many Arabs for Hezbollah’s involvement in Syrian atrocities.
Hezbollah’s participation in the regime’s war against Syrian rebels led to massacres across numerous towns and cities, displacing millions.
Nasrallah’s name resurfaced following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, led by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, as tensions escalated across the region in retaliation for Israeli actions against Palestinians and sacred sites.
