Sheikh Sadek Naboulsi. (Archive photo)
Sheikh Sadek Naboulsi, a political and religious figure familiar to Hezbollah's grassroots supporters, was killed in the strike that targeted the al-Sayyida Zahraa complex, a Shiite place of worship in Saida, southern Lebanon. According to our information, many worshippers also died in the attack. But who was sheikh Naboulsi, and why was he targeted by Israel?
He was the brother of Mohammad Afifi Naboulsi, former Hezbollah spokesman, who was assassinated on Nov. 17, 2024, during an Israeli strike in the locality of Ras al-Nabaa in Beirut. His nephew, Mohammad Baker Naboulsi, had also been killed in an Israeli strike in Jnah two weeks ago.
Naboulsi managed to carve out an independent path in political and religious circles. Born in 1975, Sadek Naboulsi replaced his father, sheikh Afif Naboulsi (who died in 2023), at al-Zahraa complex in Saida. "He has been leading prayers there for three years," said a source who knew him to L’Orient Today.
Sheikh Naboulsi held a degree in political science from the Lebanese University and had also obtained a master’s and a doctorate in international relations from the Islamic University of Beirut. It was in this capacity, and without holding any official post within Hezbollah, that he was often interviewed by Lebanese media, given that two of his brothers are employed by al-Manar, the party's television channel.
Sheikh Sadek Naboulsi expressed Hezbollah's views on current affairs, from the monopoly on weapons to the national defense strategy. Most recently, he published a post just before his assassination commenting on the cease-fire agreement reached overnight Tuesday into Wednesday between Washington and Tehran, as well as its repercussions on Lebanon. "The confusion is clear," he wrote, criticizing "submission in Lebanon."
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