Nasrallah led Hezbollah for 32 yrs, transformed it into regional force

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose death was announced on Saturday, led the Lebanese group through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation into a military force with regional sway and becoming one of the most prominent Arab figures in generations, with Iranian backing.

Nasrallah’s death deals a huge blow to Hezbollah. He will be remembered among his supporters for standing up to Israel and defying the United States. To enemies, he was the head of a terrorist organisation and a proxy for Iran’s Shi’ite Islamist theocracy in its tussle for influence in the Middle East. His regional influence was on display over nearly a year of conflict ignited by the Gaza war, as Hezbollah entered the fray by firing on Israel from southern Lebanon in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, and Yemeni and Iraqi groups followed suit, operating under the umbrella of “The Axis of Resistance”.

“We are facing a great battle,” Nasrallah said in an August 1 speech at the funeral of Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut.

Recognised even by his enemies as a skilled orator, Nasrallah’s speeches were followed by friend and foe alike. Wearing the black turban of a sayyed, or a descendent of the Prophet Mohammad, Nasrallah used his addresses to rally Hezbollah’s base but also to deliver carefully calibrated threats, often wagging his finger as he did so.