Israeli Military Airstrike Near Beirut Suspected to Have Caused Fatalities
Hassan Nasrallah (64), the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, whom the Israeli military announced on the 28th (local time) had been eliminated, is a symbolic figure who has led Hezbollah for 32 years.
Hassan Nasrallah was born in 1960 in a refugee camp in Burj Hammoud, east of Beirut, Lebanon. After completing his education in the southern port city of Tyre, he joined the Shia political party Amal Movement. His military and political career began in earnest when he joined Hezbollah, which was established under Iranian leadership in response to Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. In 1992, after Abbas al-Musawi, a co-founder and then leader of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike, Nasrallah rose to the position of Secretary-General of Hezbollah and began leading the organization.
Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah has grown into a powerful armed organization with strong military capabilities, supported by Iran for about 30 years. Hezbollah's forces number between 30,000 and 50,000, and they possess between 120,000 and 200,000 missiles and rockets, reportedly wielding greater military power than the Lebanese government forces.
Under Nasrallah's guidance, Hezbollah led the Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and fought a 34-day war in 2006 after capturing two Israeli soldiers. This was praised in the Arab world as a successful resistance against Israel. During the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011, Hezbollah, alongside Iran, supported the Bashar al-Assad regime, which was threatened by popular uprisings. During the Gaza war that began on October 7 last year, Nasrallah expressed solidarity and support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and since then, Hezbollah has been in armed confrontation with Israel for over 11 months.
Hezbollah has played a role in training armed members of the Middle East's "axis of resistance," including Hamas and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Based on this, Nasrallah earned the title "Sayyed," meaning a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
It is known that since the 2006 war with Israel, he has been very cautious about security, avoiding appearing in public or even making phone calls. He has mainly appeared through TV speeches. In a speech on the 19th, he condemned the attack involving the explosion of a pager that killed Hezbollah members and warned of retaliation.
However, after the Israeli military airstrike on Hezbollah's headquarters in southern Beirut on the 27th, contact with Nasrallah was lost, and his status became unclear. The next day, the Israeli military announced that they had eliminated him. Hezbollah has yet to make an official statement regarding Nasrallah's status.
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