Barran Press
After a silence that lasted hours, Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, announced on the evening of Saturday, September 28, 2024, the death of its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, following Israeli airstrikes on the group's strongholds in southern Lebanon.
The announcement came hours after the Israeli military confirmed the successful assassination of Nasrallah, which took place during strikes targeting the party’s command center in Haret Hreik, a suburb of Beirut.
This event sparked significant reactions across Yemeni and Arab circles. Many expressed their outrage over the Israeli aggression against Lebanese territory and its people, while others reflected on Hezbollah's actions under Nasrallah's leadership and its interventions in the internal affairs of Arab states, including Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Some commentators speculated on the implications of Nasrallah's death for Iran's influence and whether it represented a significant loss of its foothold in Lebanon.
Changing Dynamics
Dr. Leqaa Makki, a senior researcher at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, stated that "the death of Hassan Nasrallah will fundamentally alter the equations of the Middle East, though some elements will remain to serve the agendas of the upcoming phase."
Dr. Makki, a professor of media and propaganda at Baghdad University, noted that "Nasrallah was the effective leader of all Iran-linked forces in the region, making his party the central pillar of the Iranian project."
He added, "Now, it seems that Nasrallah has not disappeared alone; key leaders of the party have also gone. Consequently, Hezbollah is in its weakest state, lacking leadership amid a massive battle, surrounded by a fearful and displaced environment, and facing a local and regional community that is either hostile or skeptical. Thus, its chances of survival are uncertain."
Hezbollah's Functional Nature
Regarding the structure of Hezbollah, Dr. Makki explained that it is "not an ideological movement like Hamas but a functional party established to achieve goals related to the Iranian project, publicly aligning itself with the authority of the Supreme Leader in Tehran." He emphasized that Nasrallah's leadership since 1992 marked a significant transition in the party's history, elevating its status in the region.
He predicted that "while Hezbollah may be left without Nasrallah, it is unlikely to disappear—not because of its remaining strength, but because it is intended to persist, albeit weak and toothless."
Reflections on Syria
Jamal Sultan, editor-in-chief of the Egyptian newspaper, shared a video of a Syrian child crying over the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime and its ally, Hassan Nasrallah. He remarked, "Do you remember the child in that famous video? He cried about what the Syrian army and Nasrallah's militias did to his family and home. His last words were, 'I will tell God everything.' Did you do it, young one?"
In another post, Sultan criticized the "angry and elitist Arab intellectuals" who preach about "priorities" and "unity against the enemy." He posed challenging questions about who has fractured the Arab unity that once stood against Israel and supported the Palestinian cause.
His inquiries continued: "Who has exacerbated the enmity between Syrians and Lebanese more than that between Syrians and Israelis? Who has divided the peoples of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, turning their societies into battlegrounds for militias and armed groups?"
Task Completed
Many writers commented on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's statement mourning Nasrallah, noting its omission of any suggestion of Iranian intervention to salvage what remains of the axis of resistance.
Kuwaiti politician Nasser al-Duwaila remarked that Khamenei's sentiments were "akin to crocodile tears" for the entire resistance axis. He urged Iranian-backed factions in Syria to cease functioning "as daggers in the nation's side" and let Bashar al-Assad face the consequences from his people.
He stated, "Leave Syria to its people; neither the Supreme Leader is sincere in fighting Israel, nor is Assad a nationalist fighting Israel. Israel will advance to eliminate whatever remains of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria."
Yemeni Perspectives
In Yemen, the Minister of Awqaf and Guidance in the internationally recognized government, Mohammed Aidha Shabebah, remarked, "Hassan Nasrallah is dead! He died while cursing the Jews and spilling Muslim blood." He criticized Nasrallah's claims of fighting for Jerusalem while engaging in conflicts in other Arab regions.
Shabebah concluded, "Nasrallah has filled the Jews with curses while inflicting death upon Muslims. God does not judge by slogans but by actions and realities."
The Brain of the Iranian Project
Yemeni writer Ma'an Dammaj stated, “Hezbollah is not only the most powerful and significant arm of the Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian project, but it is also the brain of this project in the Arab region and its nervous system, as well as its media face and crown jewel.”
Dammaj emphasized that “what has happened will inevitably reflect on other countries, particularly Yemen and Iraq.”
Sectarian Practices
Commenting on the reactions to Nasrallah’s death, Yemeni journalist Saleh Al-Baydani remarked, “The reason many Arabs feel schadenfreude over the demise of Hezbollah's leadership is due to the sectarian practices the party adopted through its involvement in the wars in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.”
He added in a tweet, “Hezbollah removed its mask of ‘taqiyya’ after Arab peoples, regardless of their sects, once stood with the party during its previous confrontations with Israel, only to reveal its ugly face.”
Loyalty Beyond Arab Identity
Mohammad Ali Al-Husseini, Secretary-General of the Arab Islamic Council and a Lebanese Shia living in Saudi Arabia, reflected on his memories with Nasrallah, stating, “We started together, fought together, liberated the South together, and triumphed together.”
He continued, “But we diverged in loyalty; I remained with Arabism and the Arab nation, in the embrace of loyal Arabs, while you turned to the Iranian embrace, pledging absolute loyalty and blind obedience. You placed yourself at their service without reservation, only to be abandoned and traded away.”
Al-Husseini advised, “I warned you repeatedly, saying, ‘Beware, so you won’t later say if only I had known.’ I cautioned you about the destruction that would come to you and the Lebanese, saying, ‘I have conveyed the message.’ It was my religious duty to warn you, and I told you that repentance and return were possible.”
He viewed Nasrallah’s fate as a lesson “for anyone who abandons their homeland and Arab identity in favor of another nation, and for those who err in loyalty to anyone but their kin and brothers.”
Predictions and Final Hours
Hours earlier, Al-Husseini had predicted Nasrallah’s death during a television appearance, foreseeing it at the hands of the Israeli military.
In an interview on Al Arabiya, he advised Nasrallah, “Prepare your will, for those you have allied with have sold you out. What happened in 2006 was prearranged, but today there’s no politics, and the Israelis will destroy everything.”
On September 27, 2024, the Israeli military announced it had targeted what it described as Hezbollah’s central headquarters in southern Beirut, confirming the next day that the operation had successfully struck Nasrallah.
Following the announcement of Nasrallah's death, Hezbollah confirmed it, marking the end of a 32-year leadership under Nasrallah, who had steered the party aligned with Iran in southern Lebanon.
This escalation by Israel and the assassination of Hezbollah's leader occurred despite stated French and American efforts to broker a temporary ceasefire in southern Lebanon for 21 days, aimed at facilitating diplomatic efforts for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.