Know who are Hassan Nasrallah and H
#News Bureau September 28,2024
The news of the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been given by Israeli media and Israeli army. Hezbollah and Iranian TV channels confirmed it on Saturday evening. In Syria’s Al Qaeda and IS (Daish) influenced areas, people are celebrating the killing of Nasrallah, and sweets are being distributed. Whereas in Iran’s capital Tehran, people are protesting against America and Israel on the streets. Amidst all these news, the question is also being asked that due to which mistake this person, who was underground for the last two decades, was killed.
Hezbollah chief Nasrallah is also a Shia Ulema. His black turban tells the same. Among the Shia religious leaders or Marja, his number comes after Ali Sistani (Iraq) and Khamenei (Iran). In India, Pakistan and many countries of the world, the Shia Muslims who follow Ali Sistani and Khamenei are the most. The Shia who follow Nasrallah are more in Lebanon and the surrounding areas. But he is more famous among Shia Muslims as a hero than as a Shia religious leader, because his organization trained and prepared Hamas to challenge Israel. He trained and prepared the Houthis of Yemen. But ideologically, Hezbollah and Nasrallah support Iran. That is why they are also called Iran’s proxy organization.
Nasrallah has been leading Hezbollah for 32 years. When he took over, he was young and his beard was black but now his beard has turned white. In these 32 years, 64-year-old Nasrallah has made Hezbollah a powerful force. Hezbollah has become a political organization that has influence in Lebanon and an army equipped with ballistic missiles that can threaten Tel Aviv. Whatever government is formed in Lebanon, it is under the influence of Hezbollah, because Hezbollah soldiers are deployed to protect the border of Lebanon.
In fact, Hassan Nasrallah was raised by Iran. With Iran’s help, Nasrallah has extended his reach far beyond Lebanon. Hezbollah fighters played a key role in saving President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, when there was a direct threat from terrorist groups al Qaeda and ISIS in 2011. Hezbollah has helped train Hamas fighters, as well as prepare militias in Iraq and Yemen. According to Arab tradition, Nasrallah is known as Abu Hadi or Hadi’s father, his eldest son died fighting with the Israelis in September 1997. He was 18 years old at the time. Nasrallah has at least three other children.
Nasrallah lives a very austere life, with little resemblance to political leaders. He has avoided public appearances and telephone calls since the 2006 war against Israel. That war, which began when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during a cross-border raid, ended with both sides declaring victory after 34 days of fighting. In the aftermath, Hezbollah was praised in the Arab and international arena for taking an increasingly active role in the conflicts plaguing the region.
He is less bold than most Shia clerics. He often cracks jokes in his speeches. He never pushed for strict Islamic rules like burqa for women. He helped build Lebanon by getting funding from Iranian and expatriate Shia people. At that time Lebanon was struggling to recover from a long civil war. Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah are known for hospitals, schools and other social services in Lebanon. Born in Beirut in 1960, Nasrallah grew up in extreme poverty among Christians, Armenians, Druze, Palestinians and Shia populations. His father had a small fruit and vegetable shop.
He studied at a hawza (college of religious education) in the Iranian city of Qom in 1989 and held up Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution as a model to the Muslim world. In 1983, suicide bomb attacks on first the U.S. embassy in Beirut, then on barracks housing American and French peacekeepers, killed at least 360 people, including 241 American service members. The deadly attacks were claimed by Hezbollah affiliates, and some of those suspected of planning them later became top Hezbollah commanders under Nasrallah.
Nasrallah, on September 19, blamed Israel on TV for explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies that killed dozens of his infantrymen and wounded several thousand more the previous day. “It will be retaliated,” he said. Its form, size, how and where – these are things we will decide.”
What exactly is Hezbollah?
The Washington Post reports that Hezbollah, which means “Party of God”, is a Shi’ite Muslim political party and militia group. It holds political power in Lebanon and is backed by Iran. It emerged in the 1980s in response to Israel’s occupation of the country’s south during the 15-year Lebanese Civil War. In its 1985 manifesto, Hezbollah set Israel’s destruction as one of its main goals.
In Lebanon, the group has influence over much of the country’s historically marginalized Shia community. Hezbollah has evolved from an Iranian proxy inside Lebanon to a regional power center. During Syria’s civil war, Hezbollah fought to protect Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from al-Qaeda and IS (Daesh). It has trained Houthi rebels in Yemen and militias in Iraq. The organization has widespread political influence in Lebanon.
What is the relationship between Hezbollah and Hamas?
Hamas is the militant organization responsible for recent attacks on Israel. It controls the Gaza Strip and is committed to creating a Palestinian state in place of Israel. Hamas is a Sunni Palestinian organization, while Iran-backed Hezbollah is a Shia Lebanese party. In recent years, Hamas and Hezbollah have been at odds over the Syrian civil war, with Hezbollah being Syria’s main rival.
Although the two groups have different views on Syria, both consider Israel their enemy number one. Their shared opposition to Israel’s existence has made them strategic allies. Between 2020 and 2023, leaders of both groups opposed agreements between Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with Israel. Leaders of both organizations held at least two meetings to discuss the storm that arose after these agreements. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Lebanon in April.
