Jalal was barely three years old when Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon two decades ago, but he speaks fondly of the Hezbollah “victory” that shaped his allegiance to the Shiite group.

Despite losing its caliphate and its leader, recent attacks show the militant group has begun to recover amid international disunity.

Al Jazeera published an article last week titled “Hisham Ashmawy…the other side of Al-Ikhtiyar (The Choice)” where the author praised the Egyptian terrorist and sought to clear his name, but later took down the piece due to “contradictions with Al Jazeera publishing policies,” according to the news site.