Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
On 28 September 2024, Israel's military announced that it had suceeded in killing Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a series of airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon, the previous day. The airstrikes also resulted in the deaths of a number of other Hezbollah commanders. The party said in a statement : "The master of resistance, the righteous servant, has moved to be with his Lord and to His pleasure as a great martyr, a heroic, daring, brave, wise, insightful, and faithful leader."
The statement read: “His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, joined his great and immortal martyred comrades, whose path he led for nearly thirty years, during which he led them from victory to victory, succeeding the Master of the Martyrs of the Islamic Resistance in 1992 until the liberation of Lebanon in 2000, and to the glorious divine victory in 2006 and all the battles of honor and sacrifice, arriving at the battle of support and heroism in support of Palestine, Gaza, and the oppressed Palestinian people.” “We congratulate His Eminence the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah... for achieving his most precious wishes and the highest ranks of faith and pure belief, as a martyr on the path to Jerusalem and Palestine. We offer our condolences and congratulations to his martyred comrades who joined his pure and holy procession following the treacherous Zionist raid on the southern suburb”.
Nasrallah had avoided public appearances since a previous 2006 war. He had long been vigilant, his movements were restricted and the circle of people he saw was very small, according to a source familiar with Nasrallah's security arrangements. The assassination suggested his group had been infiltrated by informants for Israel, the source said. "This is a massive blow and intelligence failure for Hezbollah," Magnus Ranstorp, a veteran Hezbollah expert at the Swedish Defence University. "They knew that he was meeting. He was meeting with other commanders. And they just went for him." Hassan Nasrallah (born 31 August 1960 ) was Hezbollah's third Secretary General, succeeding Abbas al-Musawi, who was assassinated by the IDF in February 1992. He is often referred to by the nickname of " Mr " or "His Eminence the Sayyed" Hassan Nasrallah. His Eminence the Sayyed was famous for his tolerance and tolerance for everything, except criticism of his policies, the formation of a government that did not guarantee his control over it, or opposition to the regimes in Syria, Iraq, Iran, or the Houthis in Yemen.Nasrallah, who lived in south Beirut, was married and had three children. The Hezbollah chief was said to enjoy reading the memoirs of political figures. He has read Ariel Sharon’s autobiography, as well as Binyamin Netanyahu’s A Place Under the Sun.
During his leadership of Hezbollah, the movement was classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and other entities and countries. Russia denies allegations that Hezbollah was a terrorist organization, and considers Hezbollah a legitimate political and social organization. China has remained committed to a neutral position and remains in relationship with Hezbollah.Hassan Nasrallah was the tenth son of a Shiite family in Bourj Hammoud, Matn District (the eastern suburb of Beirut ) on August 31, 1960. His father, Abdul Karim Nasrallah, was born in Al-Bazouriyeh, a village in Mount Amal (southern Lebanon ), which was located near the city of Tyre, and he worked as a vegetable and fruit seller. Although his family was not religious, Hassan was interested in religious studies. He attended Al-Najah School and later a government school in the Sin El Fil neighborhood of Beirut, the majority of whose population was Christian.
In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War forced the family, including Nasrallah, who was fifteen years old, to move to their hometown of Bazouriyeh, where Hassan Nasrallah finished high school at a government school in Tyre . There he attended secondary school, and soon joined the Amal Movement, a Lebanese Shiite political organization, which was founded by Imam Musa al-Sadr, and his choice seemed strange at the time to the town’s political trends, which were taking on a communist and Marxist character due to the large number of communists. who were there at that time, then he became the movement’s delegate in his town.
Hassan's birth, like other births of imams, was not ordinary. He did not come into this world as an infant, but as an eminence, a master, and a natural leader. He traveled between Beirut and Tire in Lebanon, then to Najaf in Iraq, then returned to Lebanon before completing his jurisprudential, sectarian, political, social, and national education in Qom, Iran. His political awareness was formed in the Lebanese civil war, when in his prime he joined the Amal Movement and held several positions in it during the war. He learned a lot about liquidating opponents, street wars, and killing civilians, before he discovered that Professor Nabih Berri was not a prophet after his intention to ally with Bashir Gemayel, who was accused of collaborating for Israel.
Hassan decided to defect from him under the leadership of Abbas al-Musawi. Iraqi security forces stormed the seminary where Nasrallah was studying with the aim of arresting Abbas al-Musawi, so he quickly left and returned to Lebanon before the Iraqi authorities could arrest him. After Nasrallah returned to Lebanon, he joined Amal leader Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi’s religious seminary in Baalbek, where he continued his academic life as a teacher and student, in addition to practicing political and resistance work within the ranks of the Shiite Amal Movement.
The year 1982 was a pivotal yearfor Nasrallah, with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. When Hezbollah was born, Nasrallah was not a member of the leadership. But Nasrallah continued to rise within the ladder of responsibility in Hezbollah, and he later assumed responsibility for the Beirut region. The “brotherly war” between Amal and Hezbollah led His Eminence to become depressed and think about emigrating, so he left for the city of Qom, to continue his religious lessons. After Syria and Iran agreed that the two parties would reconcile, the Sayyed returned to his homeland, which he loved.
In 1992, Israel assassinated the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Abbas al-Musawi, and the move was to elect Hassan Nasrallah as Secretary-General of the party, even though he was too young. Nasrallah, at the request of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, took over the movement’s leadership. A few months after the assassination of former Secretary-General Musawi, Hezbollah chose to enter the heart of the Lebanese political arena. It participated in the parliamentary elections that took place that year and won a number of parliamentary seats.
In 1997 [1996?], Nasrallah lost his eldest son, Hadi, in confrontations that took place between Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli enemy army in the Al-Jabal Al-Rafi’i area in southern Lebanon . He was greatly affected by this event due to his high status with him. Muhammad Hassanein Heikal addressed him with words that largely reflect the situation, when he wrote to him condoling the death of his eldest son, Hadi, saying: “We have seen fatherhood tested by jihad to the point of martyrdom, and we have seen jihad tested by fatherhood to the point of heroism. I don’t know what to tell you? I am not satisfied with a word of consolation with which I can comfort you, for any word is powerless, nor am I able to pray for you, for your prayers are closer to the throne of God than any word or whisper coming from me or from anyone else."
Hezbollah attacks on the Israeli armed forces were an important factor in Israel’s decision to withdraw from south Lebanon in 2000. After the Israeli withdrawal, Nasrallah was at the helm of a complex exchange of prisoners with Israel, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian and Hezbollah members being freed and bodies of fighters returned to Lebanon. Hezbollah’s position, along with that of Syria and the Lebanese government, was that the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon was not complete, with Lebanon claiming sovereignty over the Shebaa Farms.
Following an ambush by Hezbollah on Israeli territory that resulted in the death of three soldiers and the capture of two others, the 2006 Lebanon War began. During the war, Israeli bombing operations targeting Hezbollah caused damage to many areas of Beirut, especially the poor, predominantly south Beirut neighborhoods. In a television interview broadcast on the Lebanese channel New TV on August 27, 2006, Nasrallah said that he would not have issued orders to capture the two Israeli soldiers if he had known that this would spark a war: “We did not believe, not even by one percent, that this capture would lead to The outbreak of a war at that time and of this magnitude. I am convinced and certain that this war was planned and that the capture of these hostages was their reason for starting the premeditated war, but if I had known on July 11... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I have done it? I say no., of course no."
In 2011 the regime of President Bashar al-Assad gradually deployed the Syrian army, which committed many massive massacres, bombing cities, homes, and mosques, and killing tens of thousands of Syrians. He was assisted in this by large forces from Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who intervened to save Bashar al-Assad's regime from collapse. In July 2014, Nasrallah's nephew was killed in action in Syria.
On August 7, 2021, Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, threatened that the party would bomb Israel if it bombed areas in Lebanon, commenting on the mutual bombing over the past days. Nasrallah said, in a television speech on the 15th anniversary of the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah: “If you bomb, we will bomb, and do not think that Hezbollah is distracted by internal crises.” He added: "You bombed open land, so we bombed open land. This is a confirmation of the equation that the enemy violated and not the creation of a new equation. Any enemy air strike will inevitably be responded to in an appropriate manner."
Nasrallah touched on the issue of homosexuality 26 July 2023 and considered it an export to Lebanese society from the United States and Europe, and called on the Lebanese to reject it. Nasrallah's words angered the LGBT community in Lebanon and sparked controversy on social media.
On October 7, the Commander-in-Chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Muhammad al-Deif, announced the start of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” to put an end to “Israeli violations”. Hassan Nasrallah stated 14 October 2023 that "the resistance situation today is excellent, and all scenarios are fully prepared."
The Jerusalem Post newspaper said 28 February 2024 , “One of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s greatest assets, which he formulated and nurtured and became a distinctive feature, was mocking his opponents in his speeches, but something has changed.” The Israeli newspaper pointed out that about 70% of the messages conveyed in Nasrallah's speeches are not related to the content itself, but rather to his body language, the tone of his voice, and his facial expressions, noting that he speaks with a sarcastic half-smile that gives his listeners the feeling that he has another trick up his sleeve.
“Strutting conveys self-confidence, and therefore anyone who hears Nasrallah succeeds in falling in love with his image... If he is strutting, it is likely that he knows something that we do not know,” considering that Nasrallah “turned psychological warfare into a form of art. He does not "He gives a lot of interviews, which creates expectations for his speeches, not only among his fans, but also among viewers abroad, especially in Israel. He is very calm and collected, which helps him project great self-confidence."
It seemed that “something changed in Nasrallah’s last two speeches. Both speeches were delivered in the same week, which is the first sign that something had succeeded in shaking him. They also lacked his distinctive eloquence, as emotion took over rationality. They were particularly aggressive speeches and anger is the basic emotion from which it emerged.”
"It is true that he has the upper hand because northern Israel is devoid of population, which is a major achievement for him, but the recent strikes directed by the Israeli army against key figures in Hezbollah succeeded in changing the equation." She pointed out that “the turning point is the stage in the game where there is no turning back, so Israel needs, on the one hand, to show that it is not surrendering, which is what Defense Minister Yoav Galant does excellently. On the other hand, Nasrallah will not be ready to run away.... So, it would be good to give him a reason to surrender and save face.”
With Hezbollah confirming the death of its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike targeting him in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the party was entering an exceptional phase full of challenges, as the repercussions of this assassination extend beyond Lebanon’s borders to reach Tehran. Nasrallah, who was not just a military commander or political leader but an influential symbol within the Iranian system, his loss represents a major blow to the party and to Iran itself.
Although there was an internal mechanism that includes the political council choosing a new secretary-general, the decision will not be entirely independent, as Iran, which considers Hezbollah a key part of its regional strategy, will have a major role in determining the successor. This Iranian control comes as no surprise, especially since the party relies heavily on military and financial support from Tehran, which means that the new leadership will only be chosen according to Iran’s regional interests.
The current circumstances of Nasrallah’s assassination differ radically from previous assassinations of Hezbollah leaders, such as Abbas al-Musawi, given the security and political complexities the region was going through. Nasrallah’s assassination comes at a sensitive time when the party was under increasing pressure, both from within Lebanon and from Israel, which was escalating its military operations. In addition, the raid targeting Nasrallah demonstrated Israel’s ability to reach Hezbollah leaders even in the most fortified locations, raising questions about the level of security breach that the party has been subjected to.
It was worth noting that these groups are not institutional groups, and the killing of their leader may lead to the weakening of their ranks or their collapse according to the circumstances they are going through and their ability to adapt to the depletion of their leadership. It was noteworthy that the Iranian Quds Force's forces were dispersed after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad airport in 2020. Recently, the killing of about twenty leaders of the "Radwan" unit was a major setback for "Hezbollah", in addition to the killing of the leader Fouad Shukr and about 400 other members over the past several months, not to mention the bombing of military communications devices.
Some information returned indicating that the party’s deputy secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, would take over the leadership of the party, which sources close to the party commented on, saying to Asharq Al-Awsat: “Qassem may take over the leadership of the party for a temporary period, but we must wait for the party’s decision.” It is worth noting that the initial information that spread following the bombing that targeted Haret Hreik indicated the assassination of Safieddine, which was neither confirmed nor denied by Hezbollah.
According to Hezbollah’s internal regulations, the party’s Shura Council is the one that elects the Secretary-General, and if it reaches a dead end, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran has the upper hand in the voting decision. The Shura Council in Hezbollah is the party’s supreme leadership, and its members are elected by an electoral body of hundreds called the “General Conference.” The council is headed by the Secretary-General, who is elected for a three-year term that is renewable after amending the party’s internal regulations, which allowed Nasrallah to be re-elected several times.
There was conflicting information about how Israel, a technologically advanced country, knew where he was, but that may not be enough without human resources on the ground. The French newspaper "Le Parisien" quoted a Lebanese security source on Saturday as saying that "Israel received intelligence information from an Iranian source on Friday afternoon, indicating the expected arrival of Nasrallah at the party's headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut."
Iranian strategic researcher Saeed Shawardi responded to these allegations in an interview with Alhurra TV, saying, “Israel is trying to create a rift between Iran and its allies in the region, but no one cares or listens to it, and no one gives it importance.” He adds that Israel is "making fun of this information, rather than it being intelligence."
Meanwhile, American researcher specializing in Middle East affairs, Thomas Warrick, believes that “the Iranian regime is penetrated by very capable Israeli intelligence. Israel failed to detect Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7. But after that, Israeli intelligence achieved successes.” He added in an interview with Alhurra TV that "without a doubt, we will reach the truth about how Israel knew about Nasrallah's location. This information will become clear after the dust settles."
"Unit 8200 is a major reason for the success of Israeli intelligence operations in Lebanon," says the New York Times. She added that "since 2006, the unit has been working intensively to penetrate Hezbollah, by spying on communications, and closely monitoring its geographical spread with satellites and drones, analyzing any change on the ground to monitor weapons depots, and sending elite spy teams beyond the borders, in tireless work in preparation for the confrontation." "The United States and the entire West stand behind Israel and provide it with lethal weapons, and provide it with all the information it needs. American satellites work around the clock and send images to Israel. They even photograph inside Iran, military and nuclear facilities," Shawardi says.
The Iranian researcher points out the need to "recognize that the West is very advanced in the field of information gathering." Reuters quoted sources it described as "informed" on Saturday, saying that "Nasrallah was more cautious after the wireless communication device bombings that targeted party members during the past weeks, which indicates an intelligence failure within his ranks."
Thomas Warrick believes that "the assassination of Nasrallah was probably carried out in the traditional way, by recruiting spies in the field. I think that's what happened." As for Hezbollah in particular, “they must now realize that their communications systems were hacked, and this helped the Israelis identify Nasrallah’s location on Friday,” according to the American researcher. "In the coming weeks, we will know whether they got the information from an Iranian source or not," Warrick said.
Reuters quoted three Iranian sources on 02 Octobe 2024 as saying that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had warned Hassan Nasrallah and asked him to leave Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. One of the sources, a senior Iranian official, said that immediately after the September 17 Hezbollah communications device bombing, Khamenei sent a message through an emissary asking Nasrallah to leave for Iran, citing intelligence reports that Israel had agents inside the Lebanese party and was planning to kill him. The official added that the envoy was senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was with Nasrallah in his hideout when he was targeted by Israeli bombs and killed with him.
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