It was an intelligent and religiously inclined 16-year-old boy who caught the eye of Abbas al-Musawi, who would go on to lead Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based organization formed to fight Israel. That boy, Hassan Nasrallah, would form deep ties with Mousavi and take the reins of Hezbollah after his mentor was killed in a helicopter attack in 1992.
What Israeli military agencies did not realize was that Nasrallah, who was only 32 at the time, would transform Hezbollah into a more powerful and deadly organization than Mousavi had ever dreamed of. Under his leadership, Hezbollah not only became stronger, but also became part of the government in Lebanon.
Nasrallah, one of the Middle East’s most powerful players, has been in hiding since the 2006 war with Israel. The world has seen a powerful speaker delivering a speech mostly on giant screens. On September 19 he gave a latest speech, calling the Pager blasts in Lebanon a declaration of war by Israel.
Furthermore, Nasrallah was only seen in photographs with leaders of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ backed by Shia Iran.
In a 2014 interview with a Lebanese newspaper, Nasrallah rejected “Israeli rumours” that he had to live in isolation in the bunker. Speaking to Al-Akhbar, he said that although security measures were necessary, they did not isolate him from his colleagues.
One of Israel’s greatest enemies needed that cloak of secrecy to survive for so many decades. In a major blow to Hezbollah, Israel recently eliminated most of its top leadership.
However, Nasrallah is like a ghost, hiding in the shadows, whom even death cannot glance at.
This may have changed now that Israel has made its intentions clear by targeting Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut and reducing four buildings to dust. It is reported that Nasralla was in a bunker when he became the victim of an Israeli attack on the headquarters late on Friday night. There are no confirmed reports of Nasrallah being alive or dead.
Through reports and interviews, it is possible to piece together the puzzle that is Nasrallah.
Nasrallah: Born to a vegetable seller, a sacrificed son
Being Hezbollah chief is not Nasrallah’s only identity. According to The New York Post, he is also known as Abu Hadi, or Hadi’s father, after his eldest son, who was killed fighting Israeli soldiers in 1997. Hadi was only 18 years old when he was killed in the firing.
Nasrallah was born in 1960 in a poor area of Beirut mixed with Christian Armenians, Druse and Palestinians. He was one of nine siblings and his father owned a small vegetable shop.
He is married to Fatima Yasin and has four surviving children.
According to a report by The Middle East News Agency (MENA), “He studied religious sciences for three years in madrassas in Najaf, Iraq, before being expelled when Saddam Hussein cracked down on Shia activists in 1978. ” It was in Iraq that he met his political mentor Abbas al-Musawi.
Hezbollah was formed in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982 following attacks by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
But according to Mena, before taking over the reins of Hezbollah from Mousavi, Nasrallah gained experience in the ranks of the Lebanese Resistance Regiment (Amal Movement).
How Nasrallah created Hezbollah in his own image
Since taking over Hezbollah in 1992, Nasrallah has been the face and driving force of the organization.
Despite its Shia Islamist roots, Hezbollah has formed alliances with individuals and groups from other sects, reflecting its pragmatic approach to Lebanese politics.
Nasrallah himself is not a conservative Islamic leader. He never promoted Islamic veil for women.
He has called for the “liberation” of Jerusalem, and referred to Israel as a “Zionist entity”, advocating that all Israelis should return to their countries of origin, and “Muslims, Jews and Christians There must be a Palestine with equality” according to a New York Times report.
An astute political and military leader, Nasrallah has extended Hezbollah’s influence beyond Lebanon’s borders. Outside the country, Hezbollah acts like a militia.
Hezbollah helped suppress a rebellion in Syria in 2011 that threatened President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
With Iran’s help, Nasrallah has also defeated leadership challenges within Hezbollah.
According to Ynet News, in 1997, former Hezbollah leader Sheikh Subhi Tufaili led a rebellion against Nasrallah, but his men disarmed the rebels.
Nasrallah became a hero after the war with Israel
The war with Israel has only strengthened Nasrallah’s position in the Arab world.
Under his leadership, Hezbollah played a key role in ending Israel’s 30-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.
He became a hero in Middle Eastern countries in 2006 after declaring “divine victory” against Israel after the 34-day war.
After the war, Nasrallah arrived at Bint Jbeil, a small town close to the Israeli border, and gave one of the most prominent speeches of his career.
According to a report by the Guardian, “Nasrallah claimed Israel was ‘weak as a spider’s web’ despite nuclear weapons,” he said to the Arab world and “the oppressed people of Palestine”.
According to a Reuters report, the 2006 victory earned Nasrallah the respect of many ordinary Arabs who had grown up watching Israel defeat its own forces.
However, Hezbollah and its ally Iran, which challenge Sunni powers like Saudi Arabia, have also made a lot of enemies in the Middle East.
Nasrallah was killed, Israel made it clear
For decades, Nasrallah acted like a ghost, checking Sunni powers and bleeding Israel.
Israel has faced a barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah, forcing it to evacuate its citizens from northern Israel. Since Hamas’s incursion into Israel on October 7 last year, Hezbollah has fired 8,000 rockets at Israel.
In August, with a series of pager and walkie-talkie blasts, Israel paralyzed Hezbollah’s communications network and thousands of its fighters. This was the beginning of an all-out attack.
After eliminating four senior Hezbollah leaders in a week, Israel is moving forward by targeting Nasrallah. The bombing of Hezbollah’s headquarters was a clear indication of this.
The Jerusalem Post said in an analysis, “Israel is making it clear that Nasrallah has been executed.” The tons of weapons used by Israel in Friday’s attack show that “it has no red lines in the fight against Hezbollah”.
Although he may have been a ghost beyond the reach of death, Nasrallah and his Hezbollah now face the biggest challenge to their existence.