The confirmation of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike marks a moment for the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group he has led for 32 years. As per the prediction of analysts, Nasrallah’s assassination will inflict damage on Hezbollah, complicating the already daunting challenge of finding a suitable successor.
Israel’s chief of staff Herzi Halevi said that the operation targeting Nasrallah was a result of planning, showing that further military actions against Hezbollah are likely. Identifying a successor to Nasrallah presents a complex challenge as the new leader must garner support not only from within Hezbollah’s ranks in Lebanon which is under Israel’s heavy attack but also from the group’s powerful backers in Iran.
According to the media reports, Hashem Safieddine is being viewed as a potential heir to Nasrallah. A cousin of the late leader, Safieddine is presently overseeing Hezbollah’s political affairs and serves on the group’s Jihad Council.
However, Safieddine was designated a terrorist by the US State Department in 2017 and has previously threatened retaliation against Israel following the deaths of other key Hezbollah figures.
Hassan Nasrallah, who became secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1992, transformed the group into one of the most powerful militant organisations in the Middle East. His tenure was marked by an anti-Israel stance and a commitment to resisting perceived Western imperialism.
Born in 1960 into a modest Shiite family, Nasrallah’s rise started with his involvement in the Amal movement before helping to found Hezbollah in the early 1980s. Hezbollah declared its formation with a manifesto that called for the obliteration of Israel, positioning the group as a key player in the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.
However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader has been transferred to a location inside the country with heavy security measures. Notably, the transfer comes following the Israel’s announcement of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s death in a strike in south Beirut on Friday, according to the media reports. ‘The airstrike was precise and targeted Hezbollah’s leadership meeting at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut’, reported the Israeli military. Nasrallah had led Hezbollah for over thirty years. The Israeli military tweeted on X (formerly Twitter), ‘Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world’.
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