By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — In just over a week, intensified Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed seven high-ranking commanders and officials from the powerful Hezbollah militant group, including the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The move left Lebanon and much of the Mideast in shock as Israeli officials celebrated major military and intelligence breakthroughs.
Hezbollah had opened a front to support its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip a day after the Palestinian group’s surprise attack into southern Israel.
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The recent strikes in Lebanon and the assassination of Nasrallah are a significant escalation in the war in the Middle East, this time between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force now finds itself trying to recuperate from severe blows, having lost key members who have been part of Hezbollah since its establishment in the early 1980s.
Chief among them was Nasrallah, who was killed in a series of airstrikes that leveled several buildings in southern Beirut. Others were lesser-known in the outside world, but still key to Hezbollah’s operations.
Hassan Nasrallah
Since 1992, Nasrallah had led the group through several wars with Israel, and oversaw the party’s transformation into a powerful player in Lebanon. Hezbollah entered Lebanon’s political arena while also taking part in regional conflicts that made it the most powerful paramilitary force. After Syria’s uprising in 2011 spiraled into civil war, Hezbollah played a pivotal role in keeping Syrian President Bashar Assad in power. Under Nasrallah, Hezbollah also helped develop the capabilities of fellow Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq and Yemen.
Nasrallah is a divisive figure in Lebanon, with his supporters hailing him for ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, and his opponents decrying him for the group’s weapons stockpile and making unilateral decisions that they say serves an agenda for Tehran and allies.
Nabil Kaouk
Kaouk, who was killed in an airstrike Saturday, was the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council. He joined the militant group in its early days in the 1980s. Kaouk also served as Hezbollah’s military commander in south Lebanon from 1995 until 2010. He made several media appearances and gave speeches to supporters, including in funerals for killed Hezbollah militants. He had been seen as a potential successor to Nasrallah.
Ibrahim Akil
Akil was a top commander and led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces, which …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
