This week, Hezbollah celebrated the anniversary of the martyrdom of three of its top founding leaders who were assassinated by Israeli intelligence over the past three decades. The life and role of each of those leaders reflects a big part of how Hezbollah emerged and evolved.
Coincidentally, all three leaders were killed during the month of February, which drove Hezbollah to set Feb. 17 as the annual date to commemorate them and shed light on their role within the party’s history. On Feb. 6, 1984 a special Israeli unit assassinated one of the party’s most prominent operatives, Sheik Ragheb Harb. On Feb. 16, 1992, Israeli jets killed Hezbollah’s first secretary general, Sheik Abbas al-Mussawi. And on Feb. 12, 2008, Israeli intelligence assassinated Hezbollah’s military commander Imad Mughniyeh by blowing up his car when he was visiting Damascus.
