Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated yesterday (Friday) by the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The historic assassination was carried out with 83 tons of explosives dropped on the bunker where he was hiding, blowing it up along with its occupants in just 10 dramatic seconds.
This assassination follows two particularly difficult weeks in Lebanon. Last week, hundreds of booby-trapped pagers exploded, injuring thousands of Hezbollah militants and rendering them operationally ineffective.
The following day, a similar number of communication devices and other electrical equipment in the hands of Hezbollah militants exploded. Afterward, an underground command center, where Hezbollah’s military leadership and the Radwan force had gathered, was bombed, killing most of them. And now, the head of the snake has been eliminated.
Nasrallah was one of Israel’s most bitter enemies, leading the Shiite terrorist organization for 32 years. Over the years, he orchestrated thousands of terror attacks, led the Second Lebanon War against Israel, and frequently mocked the country, claiming that “Israel is weaker than a spider’s web.” The day after Hamas’s murderous surprise attack that triggered the “Iron Swords War,” Nasrallah declared the opening of a front against Israel “in solidarity” and launched thousands of rockets into Israel, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate their homes for 11 months. Now, the arch-terrorist from the north has also met his end.
Hassan Nasrallah was born on August 31, 1960. He was a Shiite Muslim cleric and Lebanese politician who led the Hezbollah terrorist organization and militia. In the Arab world, and particularly in Lebanon, he was known as Sayyed Hassan.
In most Western countries, especially Israel and the U.S., Nasrallah was considered a top and dangerous arch-terrorist, mainly operating against Israel with the support of his major ally, Iran, and also with Syrian assistance. Throughout his life, he acted against Israel, including by kidnapping soldiers, firing thousands of rockets and missiles, and orchestrating terror attacks.
Nasrallah was born to a family in the town of Bourj Hammoud, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon. He was the eldest of nine children and became obsessed with Islam at an early age, beginning to read fundamentalist literature.
Over the years, he attracted the attention of sheikhs and ayatollahs, who saw him as a promising student with the potential to become a religious preacher. At age 16, he connected with Abbas al-Musawi, who later became the leader of Hezbollah. The two lived together with other Shiite activists in Iraq until they were forced to leave due to their subversive activities, returning to Lebanon. Meanwhile, following the success of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the establishment of the ayatollahs’ rule, the exiled Shiites decided to spread militant Shiite ideology in Lebanon as well.
After Israel entered Lebanon in 1982, hundreds of Iranian officers from the Revolutionary Guards were sent to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon to organize revolutionary movements against Israel with the goal of establishing an Islamic Republic in Lebanon. These forces succeeded in founding Hezbollah, which from its first day received financial and religious support from Iran.
Musawi and Nasrallah joined the new organization, and after Israel’s withdrawal in 1985, Hezbollah became an enemy of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the South Lebanon Army (SLA), as it began launching rockets at northern Israeli towns. Meanwhile, Nasrallah grew in stature as both a religious and military figure, and in 1990, he became the head of Hezbollah’s military forces.
In February 1992, Musawi was assassinated by Israel, and Nasrallah assumed leadership of the organization. That same year, Hezbollah joined the Lebanese Parliament, and in 2000, Nasrallah was credited with Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. Since then, Nasrallah established a rocket array threatening Israel, built an array of outposts and underground tunnels along the border, and frequently delivered provocative speeches mocking Israel and its leaders.
The 2004 prisoner exchange deal further elevated Nasrallah’s status, but in 2006, his attempt to secure another achievement by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers ignited a full-scale war. During this conflict, Israel conducted a ground invasion into Lebanon, bombed the Dahiya district in Beirut, and forced Nasrallah into a bunker where he remained ever since.
On October 8, 2023, Nasrallah announced Hezbollah’s participation in the fight “in solidarity” with his Palestinian brothers. For more than ten months, Israel waged a relatively low-intensity war (compared to Gaza) against Hezbollah, eliminating over 400 Hezbollah operatives and leaders in airstrikes.
On July 30, Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr, Nasrallah’s close associate and Hezbollah’s top military commander. Nasrallah promised revenge for his death, but a month later, he was caught off guard by a massive preemptive strike by the Israeli Air Force, which attacked Hezbollah’s launchers aimed at strategic targets in central and northern Israel 45 minutes before the main assault.
Nasrallah was known as a charismatic leader, a tough commander, and a skilled orator, who gained political power through his ties with Tehran and Damascus. Since the Second Lebanon War, Nasrallah avoided public appearances due to Israel’s intent to assassinate him, and he became a target for jihadist organizations fighting in Syria against Assad’s regime.
Nonetheless, until today, Nasrallah had survived assassination attempts – until, like the military heads of both Hezbollah and Hamas, his time finally came.
