GAZA (National Times) Palestinians mourned the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike, hailing the slain militant leader as a “rare” figure who backed his fierce rhetoric with determination to fight Israel, AFP reports.

Gaza City resident Khalil Youssef, 45, said that “the martyrdom” of Nasrallah, a powerful ally of Hamas, was “a great loss for us as Palestinians”.

“He was a rare man who stood against the (Israeli) occupation and supported us,” said Youssef. “He never wavered in his resistance” to Israel, he added.

“Gaza lost a rare resistance leader,” said another Gaza City resident, 32-year-old Ali Tafesh. “Nasrallah has been with us since the founding of Hezbollah, and especially since the beginning of the war on Gaza” in October.

“He was the first to support Gaza and to fire rockets at the occupation in solidarity with Gaza.”