Why it's lonely at the top for Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah

In the past week, Hezbollah has lost many of its top leaders to Israeli offensive. Despite the Iranian support and counsel, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah might be lonely. Does this provide a golden opportunity for Israel?

In Short

• Lebanon-based terror-group Hezbollah has lost three of its top leaders in the past one week
• This poses questions about how its chief Hassan Nasrallah will handle the organisation
• This could also be the time when Israel tries to pin down Hezbollah that Nasrallah is alone

“We will continue striking Hezbollah. Anyone who has a missile in their living room and a rocket in their garage will not have a home," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And Israel has been hitting hard. The latest Israeli offensive against Hezbollah, the Jewish nation's largest since the 2006 war with the terror group, has seen over 550 people dead. It has also left Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah alone at the top.

Israel's military chief has asked his troops to prepare for a ground offensive into Lebanon. The offensive in Lebanon started with detonation of thousands of pagers and radio devices being used by members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah on September 17 and 18. Israel then launched an aerial offensive against Hezbollah on September 19 even as Nasrallah was delivering a speech. The message was clear.

Three of Hezbollah's top leaders have been killed within a week.

Ibrahim Qubaisi, the chief of Hezbollah's rocket and missile division, was killed on September 24. Ali Karaki, a member of the Jihadi council of Hezbollah, was killed on September 23. Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah's operations, was killed on September 20.

This is the list of top Hezbollah commanders who have been killed in a span of seven days. To add to this, is the death of Fuad Shukr, one of the most senior commanders of Hezbollah, just two months ago. Shukri's killing was a big blow to Hezbollah.

With many of Hezbollah's commanders dead, Hezbollah chief Nasrallah will have to navigate the tough waters with caution. Despite all the backing from Iran, he will be feeling lonely too.

Hezbollah has always survived without its top leaders, due to its strong organisational structure and its ability to adapt. But with the death of several of its top leaders, and that too, in a short span, its immediate future is in question.

With the death of Aqil, Karaki and that of Shukr in July, the top leaders of Hezbollah after Nasrallah have all been eliminated.

Some experts are also taking to social media to discuss the plight of the Hezbollah chief.

All the Hezbollah leaders who were eliminated by Israel were crucial to the Shia organisation. There was a reason why Nasrallah might be feeling lonely.

IBRAHIM QUBAISI: THE CHIEF OF ROCKET AND MISSILE DIVISION

Ibrahim Qubaisi' death was confirmed by Hezbollah on Telegram on September 25, hours after the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it had "eliminated" him.

His killing was part of Israel's aerial strikes on Lebanon, where it attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut, killing Qubaisi in a six-storey residential building in an airstrike on Ghobeiri in Beirut's southern suburbs.

He was the chief of Hezbollah's rocket and missile division.

“Over the years and during the war, he was responsible for the launches at the Israeli home front. Qubaisi was a central source of knowledge in the field of missiles, and was close to the senior military leadership of Hezbollah,” IDF said.

Israel says that Qubaisi joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and held several key positions, including heading the Badr regional division. The IDF also claims that Qubaisi was the mastermind of the 2000 kidnapping attack in Mount Dov, which caused the deaths of three Israeli soldiers, whose bodies were returned in 2004.

Qubaisi was reporting directly to Hezbollah chief Nasrallah.

ALI KARAKI: MEMBER OF HEZBOLLAH'S TOP MILITARY UNIT

On September 23, aerial attacks were carried out on Hezbollah's southern front commander Ali Karaki. He was also a member of the Jihad council, Hezbollah's top military unit.

Hezbollah did not confirm that Karaki was dead. A security source told Reuters that Kiraki's fate was unclear.

If confirmed, Karaki's death would be a considerable blow as he managed Hezbollah's forces on the Israel-Lebanon border. His troops would serve as the first line of defence against any Israeli ground invasion of southern Lebanon, reported The New York Times.

Karaki was also on the list of US financial sanctions.

IBRAHIM AQIL: SENIOR MEMBER OF THE ELITE RADWAN FORCE

Ibrahim Aqil was killed by Israel just days after the pager attacks in Lebanon. Aqil was a senior leader in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force.

"Ibrahim Aqil had the blood of many innocent people on his hands — Israelis, Americans, French, Lebanese and more," said the IDF.

Aqil, who joined Hezbollah in the 1980s, was the second-in-command after the killing of Fuad Shukr.

He was wanted by the US for his role in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, and had a $7 million reward on his state announced by the US State Department.

Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death and called him "one of the great jihadist leaders", adding, “Jerusalem was always in his heart, mind and thoughts day and night. Jerusalem was the passion of his soul and praying in its mosque was his greatest dream.”

FUAD SHUKR: RIGHT HAND OF NASRALLAH KILLED IN JULY

Fuad Shukr was the second-in-command of Hezbollah and was killed in July in Beirut. Media reports say Shukr received a phone call that directed him to shift from his second-floor office to the seventh floor house.

He was among the founding members of Hezbollah during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. He was considered Nasrallah's right hand.

Shukr was also wanted by the US State Department.

With the death of Aqil, Karaki and that of Shukr in July, the topmost leaders of Hezbollah after Nasrallah have been killed.

HEZBOLLAH'S NASRALLAH REMAINS ALONE NOW

With the constant attacks on Hezbollah's hideouts and death of many of its top leaders, Hezbollah's survival is being questioned. For Nasrallah, who has the support and counsel of Iran, it might be getting lonely because of the eliminations of Hezbollah leaders.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the IDF, with its strikes, was “crushing” the infrastructure that Hezbollah built in two decades, The Times of Israel reported.

He also highlighted the fact that "Nasrallah remains alone" now.

“In the past day, we are crushing what was built by Hezbollah for 20 years. Nasrallah remains alone at the helm, entire units of the Radwan Force were taken out of service, and tens of thousands of rockets were destroyed,” Gallant's office quoted him as saying.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ISRAEL AND HEZBOLLAH?

And what does Nasrallah's being alone mean for Israel and Hezbollah?

“Israel needs to go on the offensive while [Hassan] Nasrallah is almost alone,” said Colonel Kobi Marom (retired), according to The Jerusalem Post.

Colonel Marom, an expert in the northern zone, called for decisive action by Israel and said Hezbollah won't negotiate unless its power centres are targeted.

"There is a rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity here; it’s time for brave decisions,” he said.

Israel realises that, and that is why the IDF is preparing to launch a ground offensive into Lebanon.

"You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day. This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah," Israel's military chief Lt Gen Herzi Halevi told Israeli soldiers in an address.

With Hezbollah's top leaders eliminated and Nasrallah lonely at the top, this might be a time when Israel makes strategic gains. However, it has to be kept in mind that Hezbollah can be crippled, but eliminating it is close to impossible.