Hassan Nasrallah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hassan Nasrallah
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حسن نصر الله
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Nasrallah in 2019
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| Secretary-General of Hezbollah | |
| In office 16 February 1992 – 27 September 2024 |
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| Deputy | Naim Qassem |
| Preceded by | Abbas al-Musawi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 August 1960 Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon |
| Died | 27 September 2024 (aged 64) Dahieh, Lebanon |
| Manner of death | Assassination by airstrike |
| Political party | Hezbollah (1982–2024) |
| Other political affiliations |
Amal (1978–1982) |
| Spouse | Fatimah Yasin |
| Children | 5 |
| Signature |  |
Hassan Nasrallah (Arabic: حسن نصر الله 31 August 1960 – 27 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and the secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militant group.
Born into a Shia family in the suburbs of Beirut in 1960, Nasrallah finished his education in Tyre, when he briefly joined the Amal Movement, and afterward at a Shia seminary in Baalbek. He later studied and taught at an Amal school. Nasrallah joined Hezbollah, which was formed to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. After a brief period of religious studies in Iran, Nasrallah returned to Lebanon and became Hezbollah's leader after his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike in 1992.
Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah acquired rockets with a longer range, which allowed them to strike at northern Israel. After Israel suffered heavy casualties during its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, it withdrew its forces in 2000, which greatly increased Hezbollah's popularity in the region, and bolstered Hezbollah's position within Lebanon. However, Hezbollah's role in ambushing an Israeli border patrol unit leading up to the 2006 Lebanon War was subject to local and regional criticism. During the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah fought on the side of the Syrian army against what Nasrallah termed "Islamist extremists". He has also promoted the "Axis of Resistance," an informal coalition of Iran-backed militias focused on opposing Israel and the United States. Following Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel, he opted to engage in the conflict, initiating attacks on Israel, which resulted in a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that impacted both sides of the border.
On 27 September 2024, the Israel Defense Forces announced that its air force had struck Hezbollah's main headquarters with the goal of assassinating Nasrallah. Hezbollah confirmed his death the following day.
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Early life and education
Hassan Nasrallah was born the ninth of ten children into a Shia family in Bourj Hammoud, Matn District (an eastern suburb of Beirut), on 31 August 1960. His father, Abdul Karim Nasrallah, was born in Bazourieh, a village in Jabal Amel (Southern Lebanon) located near Tyre, and worked as a fruit and vegetables seller. Although his family was not particularly religious, Hassan was interested in theological studies. He attended the al-Najah school and later a public school in the predominantly Christian neighborhood of Sin el Fil.
In 1975, the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War forced the family, including Nasrallah who was 15 at the time, to move to their ancestral home in Bazourieh, where Nasrallah completed his secondary education at the public school in Tyre. There he briefly joined the Amal Movement, a Lebanese Shia political group.
Nasrallah studied at the Shia seminary in the Beqaa Valley town of Baalbek. The school followed the teachings of Iraqi Shi'ite scholar Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, who founded the Dawa movement in Najaf, Iraq during the early 1960s.
In 1976, aged sixteen, Nasrallah traveled to Iraq where he was admitted into al-Sadr's seminary in Najaf. Al-Sadr is said to have recognized Nasrallah's qualities and is quoted as saying "I scent in you the aroma of leadership; you are one of the Ansar [followers] of the Mahdi ...". Nasrallah was expelled from Iraq, along with dozens of other Lebanese students, in 1978. Al-Sadr was imprisoned and brutally murdered. Nasrallah was forced to return to Lebanon in 1979, by that time having completed the first part of his study, as Saddam Hussein was expelling many Shia, including the future Iranian supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, and Abbas Musawi.
Back in Lebanon, Nasrallah studied and taught at the school of Amal's leader Abbas al-Musawi, later being selected as Amal's political delegate in Beqaa, and making him a member of the central political office. Around the same time, in 1980, Al-Sadr had been executed by Saddam Hussein.
Early activities
Nasrallah joined Hezbollah after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. In 1989, Hassan Nasrallah traveled to Qom, Iran, where he furthered his religious studies.
Nasrallah believed that Islam holds the solution to the problems of any society, once saying, "With respect to us, briefly, Islam is not a simple religion including only prayers and praises, rather it is a divine message that was designed for humanity, and it can answer any question man might ask concerning his general and personal life. Islam is a religion designed for a society that can revolt and build a community."
In 1991, Nasrallah returned to Lebanon and the following year replaced Musawi as Hezbollah's leader after the latter was killed by an Israeli airstrike.
Leadership of Hezbollah
Nasrallah became the leader of Hezbollah after the Israelis assassinated the previous leader, Musawi, in 1992. During Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah acquired rockets with a longer range, which allowed them to strike at northern Israel despite the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. In 1993, Israel carried out Operation Accountability which resulted in the destruction of much of Lebanon's infrastructure, and Israel claimed the operation was successful. An agreement was eventually reached whereby Israel ended its attacks in Lebanon and Hezbollah agreed to stop attacks on northern Israel.
After a short pause, hostilities resumed. In 1996 Israel launched Operation Grapes of Wrath, blocking important Lebanese harbour cities and bombing a Syrian military base. After 16 days of Israeli attacks in Lebanon, the Israeli–Lebanese Ceasefire Understanding was agreed upon. Again, Hezbollah agreed to stop rocket attacks in exchange for Israel halting its attacks. As in 1993, the peace did not last for long.
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In Israel, it was increasingly debated whether the presence of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon was working, since it was clear that the 'security zone' could not stop Hezbollah rockets reaching into Israel. After heavy Israeli casualties in south Lebanon, some Israeli politicians argued that the conflict would only end if Israel withdrew from Lebanon. In 2000, Ehud Barak withdrew Israeli forces from Lebanon. Following the Israeli withdrawal, the South Lebanon Army, which was supported by Israel, was quickly overrun by Hezbollah. Some SLA members escaped to Israel, but many were captured by Hezbollah. This success against Israel greatly increased Hezbollah's popularity within Lebanon and the Islamic world.
Consequently, Nasrallah was credited in Lebanon and the Arab world for ending the Israeli occupation of the South of Lebanon, something which has greatly bolstered the party's political standing within Lebanon.
Nasrallah played a major role in a complex prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners being freed and many human remains, including that of his son, being returned to Lebanon. The agreement was described across the Arab world as a magnificent victory for Hezbollah, and Nasrallah was personally praised for achieving these gains.
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A December article in the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat stated that command of the organization's military wing was transferred from Nasrallah to his deputy, Na'im Qasim in August 2007. Hezbollah denied this suggestion, declaring it an attempt to "weaken the popularity" of the movement.
In October 2008, Hashim Safi Al Din, his cousin, was assigned to succeed Nasrallah as secretary general of Hezbollah.
Widespread protests in Lebanon in October 2019 due to a deepening financial and economic crisis put pressure on the government leaders to resign, including Nasrallah himself.
Under his tenure, Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization, either wholly or in part, by the United States and other nations, as well as by the European Union. The Arab League designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization in 2016, but as of 2024 no longer views it as one. As of 2015, Russia was rejecting the claims that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and considered Hezbollah a legitimate sociopolitical organization. As of 2012, China remains neutral, and maintains contacts with Hezbollah.
Memorandum of Understanding with Free Patriotic Movement
Nasrallah negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Free Patriotic Movement headed by Michel Aoun, the former premier and a Maronite Christian. Aoun described the ten-point MoU in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal published in July 2006. Hezbollah agreed to disarm upon the return of its prisoners and the occupied Shebaa Farms. It also agreed to the pardon and return of fugitive South Lebanon Army (SLA) members.
The Free Patriotic Movement in turn agreed to work for reform of the confessional electoral system of the Parliament of Lebanon and move it in the direction of one man, one vote. Aoun made the point that the political process was in effect disarming Hezbollah without any loss in lives from unnecessary wars.
2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict
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Following an ambush by Hezbollah in Israeli territory that left three soldiers dead and two abducted, the 2006 Lebanon War started. During the war Israeli bombardments seeking Hezbollah targets caused damage in many parts of Beirut, especially the poorer and largely Shiite South Beirut, which is controlled by Hezbollah. On 3 August 2006, Hassan Nasrallah vowed to strike Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel's bombardment of Lebanon's capital. "If you hit Beirut, the Islamic resistance will hit Tel Aviv and is able to do that with God's help," Nasrallah said in a televised address. He added that Hezbollah forces were inflicting heavy casualties on Israeli ground troops.
During the conflict, Nasrallah came under intense criticism from Arab countries, including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned on 14 July of the risk of "the region being dragged into adventurism that does not serve Arab interests," while the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal called the Hezbollah attacks "unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts." He went further, saying, "These acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we cannot simply accept them."
Nasrallah also came under intense criticism from some in Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of the Republic of Lebanon and the most prominent leader of the Druze community, spoke out quite forcefully: "Great, so he's a hero. But I'd like to challenge this heroism of his. I have the right to challenge it, because my country is in flames. Besides, we did not agree". Jumblatt is also quoted as saying: "He is willing to let the Lebanese capital burn while he haggles over terms of surrender".
Following the war, came what is known as the "Green Flood" (Al-sayl al-akhdhar), according to Iranian-born journalist Amir Taheri. "This refers to the massive amounts of U.S. dollar notes that Hezbollah is distributing among all the citizens that were effected from the war in Beirut and the south. The dollars from Iran are ferried to Beirut via Syria and distributed through networks of militants. Anyone who can prove that his home was damaged in the war receives $12,000, a tidy sum in wartorn Lebanon".
In a TV interview aired on Lebanon's New TV station on 27 August 2006, Nasrallah said that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would lead to such a war: "We do not think, even one percent, that the capture led to a war at this time and of this magnitude. I'm convinced and sure that this war was planned and that the capture of these hostages was just their excuse to start their pre-planned war, but if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not".
Syrian Civil War
On 25 May 2013, Nasrallah announced that Hezbollah is fighting in the Syrian civil war against "Islamist extremists" and "pledged that his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas that border Lebanon". He confirmed that Hezbollah was fighting in the strategic Syrian town of Qusair on the same side as the Syrian army. In the televised address, he said, "If Syria falls in the hands of America, Israel and the takfiris, the people of our region will go into a dark period."
In July 2014, Nasrallah's nephew was killed fighting in Syria.
Personal life
Nasrallah was married to Fatimah Yasin and they had four children: Muhammad Javed, Zainab, Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Mahdi.
On 27 September 2024, his daughter Zainab was killed by an Israeli airstrike.
Death
On 27 September 2024, the Israeli Air Force launched an airstrike on the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, reportedly targeting Nasrallah. At least six people were killed and over 90 injured following the strike, with several missing.
On the morning of 28 September 2024, the IDF stated that Nasrallah had died in the strike. Hours later, Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities confirmed Nasrallah's death.
Legacy
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By playing a key part in ending the Israeli occupation, Nasrallah became a "national hero" in Lebanon. The New York Times article reported that an Arab politician called him as the "most powerful man in the Middle East" and the "only Arab leader who actually does what he says he's going to do". Al Jazeera compared him to other Arab leaders such as Yasser Arafat and Gamal Abdel Nasser, and leftist revolutionaries like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, while journalist Annia Ciezadlo described him as an "emblem of Islam and Arab pride". Writer and analyst Amal Saad-Ghorayeb said that he is "passionate" but also "plainspoken and practical".
Nasrallah was often referred to as "al-Sayyid Hassan" (السيد حسن), the honorific "Sayyid" denoting a claim of descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandson Husain ibn Ali.
See also
In Spanish: Hasan Nasrallah para niños
- Iran–Lebanon relations
- Bashar Assad
- Ali Khamenei
