Attitudes About Nasrallah Appear More Positive in Middle East Since His Death

Public perceptions of Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who was assassinated by Israel last week, have grown more positive across the Middle East since his death, according to an analysis of social media and other internet posts.

While Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based, is among those countries, opinions of him are more negative there than in the region overall, said Jonathan Teubner, the chief executive of FilterLabs AI, a firm that measures public sentiment in places where polling is difficult to conduct.

FilterLabs has been tracking attitudes about the militia leader. Support for Mr. Nasrallah, a Shiite Muslim, peaked in Sunni Arab countries in mid-September, when Hamas — a Sunni group — released a letter of support for him from its leader, Yahya Sinwar.

According to the analysis, attitudes toward Mr. Nasrallah began returning to their usual levels across the Middle East after the letter but rose again after the Israeli strike that killed him, reflecting anger toward Israel and enthusiasm for Mr. Nasrallah’s support for Palestinians in Gaza.

Sentiment about Mr. Nasrallah was more positive on news media sites in Lebanon after his death. But FilterLabs found that commentators on Lebanese social media also focused on the damage caused by the Israeli strike.

Mr. Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for 32 years, was a towering figure across the Middle East. On Saturday, demonstrators in several countries in the region mourned him and condemned Israel’s strikes. But some communities, including in Lebanon, welcomed his death.

The FilterLabs analysis noted worries among some in Lebanon that Hezbollah had courted a war with Israel, a conflict that has caused civilian casualties and threatens to bring further destruction to Lebanon,