"His eminence, the master of resistance, the righteous servant, has passed away to be with his lord who is pleased with him as a great martyr. The leadership of Hezbollah pledges ... to continue its jihad in confronting the enemy [Israel], supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people," a statement by the mighty Lebanon-based Shia organisation read about the passing of its general secretary Hassan Nasrallah. An Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's underground headquarters in Beirut claimed Nasrallah's life, his comrades said on Saturday.
While civilians rejoined his death in Israel, Hezbollah's allies including Iran strongly criticised the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. Nasrallah's killing, who commanded the respect and loyalty of the Lebanese public, is a major blow to Hezbollah which has been under immense pressure from the IDF ever since the recent offensive began.
Who was Hassan Nasrallah? How did he evolve from a poor family in Beirut to the political chambers of the Hezbollah network and thereby to the IDF and Mossad hit lists? Here are five things you may like to know about the late Iran-backed strongman:
1. Humble beginnings: Hassan Nasrallah was born in 1960 as the son of a poor vegetable seller in a Shia Beirut neighbourhood. He was the eldest of the nine kids in the family.
Inspired by the new Islamist ideologies taking wings in the Middle East in his youth, he joined the Islamic Amal, a Shia militia formed shortly before the Lebanon Civil War of 1975. However, at the beginning of the 1980s, Nasrallah left Amal in search of radical alternatives, The Guardian said in a report.
2. Hezbollah career: In the years that followed, Iran sponsored and orchestrated a coalition of Islamist groups that led to the founding of Hezbollah. Nasrallah rose among its ranks, sharpening his leadership and oratory skills over time. In 1992, he was chosen as the movement’s new secretary-general after Israel assassinated Abbas al-Musawi.
3. Direct face-off with 'zionist' regime: Against Israel, Hassan Nasrallah led Hezbollah twice (ahead of the ongoing crisis). First, he witnessed the IDF withdrawing from Lebanon in 2000, which he claimed to be the "first Arab victory against Israel." In 2006, his fighters launched cross-border attacks on the IDF, killing wight and taking two hostage. This escalated into a 34-day conflict that claimed the lives of 1,125 Lebanese and 164 Israeli people.
He stood for the independence of entire Lebanese territories held by Israel including the Shebaa Farms area, BBC said in a report.
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4. Hezbollah gets a political facelift: In 2009, Nasrallah released a new political manifesto reportedly highlighting Hezbollah's "political vision". The reference to an Islamic republic, which featured in the 1985 founding document of the orgnaisation, was dropped. Earlier, Hezbollah had declared the obliteration of Israel and antagonism towards the Soviet Union and the United States among its principles. In the new manifesto, Israel and the US were named as enemies by Nasrallah, while reiterating that Hezbollah had reasons to keep its weapons despite a UN resolution against it.
5. Role in Syrian war: In 2013, Nasrallah's Hezbollah sent thousands of its fighters into Syria to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad against rebel push. This was critical in changing the course of the brutal Syrian civil war in favour of Tehran-backed Bashar. "It is our battle, and we are up to it," Nasrallah had said.