Israel eliminated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, but now Iraq has got 100 new 'Nasrallahs'

Hassan Nasrallah died on September 27 and in less than a week, 100 ‘Nasrallahs’ have been born in Iraq. Wondering how? Following the Hezbollah leader’s death, Baghdad saw a surge of newborns named after him.  

According to Iraq’s health ministry, around 100 newborns across the country have been registered under the name “Nasrallah”.

Why are Iraq newborns named after Nasrallah?

According to Iraqi media reports, the babies are named after Nasrallah “in honour of the martyr of the resistance."

Iraq had announced a three-day national mourning in honour of the “martyrdom” of Nasrallah’s assassination.

The longtime ideological and strategic leader of Hezbollah, Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.  

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Nasrallah led the powerful Shi’ite armed group for 32 years and made regional enemies beyond Israel and the West.

He was regarded as a symbol of resistance against Israeli and Western influence in numerous Arab countries.    

In Iraq, Nasrallah garnered substantial support, especially among the majority Shia population.

Nasrallah’s assassination sparked anger among people in Iraq with the country witnessing massive protests, condemning Israel’s actions and declaring his killing a violation of international law.

Nasrallah shared a close tie with Iraq. He was popular among Iraqis critical of the US presence in Iraq following the 2003 invasion and kept solidifying his image as a symbol of resistance to Western intervention.

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Born in 1960, he studied Islam at a Shia seminary in the Iraqi city of Najaf and later joined the Dawa party..

In 1982, following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Nasrallah ascended within Hezbollah which was formed with the backing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.  

Nasrallah took the charge of Hezbollah in 1992 after the assassination of his mentor, Abbas Musawi and in the next three decades, he turned the group into a regional powerhouse, influencing conflicts from Syria to Yemen and training Palestinian fighters in Gaza.

Hezbollah, under Nasrallah’s leadership, strengthened both militarily and politically and it even helped provide missiles and rockets to terrorist groups including Hamas and militias in Iraq and Yemen, all part of ‘Axis of Resistance’ to Israel and its allies including the US.

Nasrallah ‘suffocated’ to death

As per Israeli news outlet Channel 12, Nasrallah may have suffocated from poisonous gases inside his secret bunker after which it was demolished by 80 tons of “bunker-busting” bombs.

Also Read: Hezbollah chief Nasrallah had agreed to ceasefire shortly before Israel assassinated him: Lebanon minister

There were no wounds on his body when it was discovered by officials, indicating that he may have been buried under rubble while gas from explosions filled the space around him.

A report in Reuters mentioned medical and security personnel, who recovered Nasrallah’s body, as saying that the Hezbollah chief was most likely killed by blunt trauma due to the explosions that occurred when he was preparing for a meeting with Hezbollah leadership.