Hassan Nasrallah
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Hassan Nasrallah (31 August 1960 – 27 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. 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. In 1982, Nasrallah served as a founding member of Hezbollah, which was formed to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, declaring that its confrontation with Israel "should only end when it has been removed from existence". 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. Israel withdrew its forces in 2000 after the 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, a decision widely considered in Lebanon to have been due to Hezbollah's attacks. The date of Israeli withdrawal is celebrated as a public holiday in Lebanon. Hezbollah cultivated Nasrallah's media image as a charismatic authority, though this image was later weakened. Hezbollah's role in ambushing an Israeli border patrol unit, leading up to the 2006 Lebanon War, was subject to criticism, though Nasrallah projected the end of the war as a Lebanese and Arab victory. During the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah fought on the side of the Syrian government (Al Assad) against what Nasrallah termed "Islamist extremists". However, several figures and organizations asserted that Nasrallah was responsible for massacres of Sunni Muslims. Nasrallah also promoted the "Axis of Resistance", an informal coalition of Iran-backed groups focused on opposing Israel and the United States. After the October 7 attacks followed by war, Hezbollah engaged in support of Hamas in ongoing conflict that impacted both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border. On 27 September 2024, Nasrallah was killed when the Israeli air force attacked Hezbollah's Headquarters.