Israel kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in air strike on Beirut

The longtime head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed on Friday night in a significant Israeli airstrike on Beirut, the group based in Lebanon has confirmed.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army claimed to have been the assassin.

Many people, not just in Lebanon but also ou

tside of it, viewed Nasrallah as a hero when he was at the height of his popularity following the war with Israel in 2006. Hezbollah, his Iranian-backed organization, was defined for years by his refusal to bow to Israel. But when Hezbollah dispatched fighters to put an end to the uprising that was posing a threat to President Bashar al-Assad'sauthority,that all changed.

Many in the Sunni Muslim Arab world were not persuaded by Nasrallah that his movement was not behind the attacks in Syria prior to Hezbollah's involvement in the conflict.