On Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. This attack also took the lives of several other important Hezbollah commanders. For 32 years, Nasrallah led Hezbollah, turning it into one of the most powerful groups opposing the United States and Israel in the Middle East. His death marks a significant moment for both Hezbollah and the region.
Early Life and Rise to Power
Hassan Nasrallah was born in 1960 in a poor family in Beirut, Lebanon. He was the eldest of nine children, and his family ran a small grocery business. In 1975, as the Lebanese Civil War broke out, they fled the city, seeking safety elsewhere. Nasrallah developed an interest in religion during his teenage years and joined a Shia political and social movement called Amal in 1978.
Israeli occupation forces and armored personnel carriers at a departure ceremony in September 1982 at the Beirut airport in Lebanon. © AP Photo / Max Nash
In 1982, he became ...