Samir Kantar was born in July 1962 to Druze parents in Aabey, Lebanon, a strategic area overlooking Beirut.
He was only 17 when he carried out Operation Nasser in 1979 in Israel, killing at least two Israelis. Serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison, Kantar is expected to be released after almost 30 years in a prisoner swap deal between Hezbollah and Israel.
According to family members, Kantar had attempted to carry out a military operation against Israeli forces from Jordan in June 1978 but was captured by the authorities there and imprisoned for almost a year.
He is said to have also led operations from his prison cell in Israel.
Kantar later obtained a correspondence degree in prison from a college in Tel Aviv, having specialised in Sociology.
The research topics he chose were 'The Military Surprises of World War II' and 'The Contradiction of Security and Democracy in Israel'.
Samir had said that if he were to stay in prison longer, he would have attempted to obtain a PhD. He is now fluent in Hebrew and English.
Samir is also said to have stated: "If I were to spend another 20 years in prison, I will not write an apology letter for the Nasser Operation, since the struggle continues. I had the honour of defending my nation in 1979 and the only regret I have is not being there to fight for my country during the ruthless Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982."
Samir suffers from asthma and still has a bullet in his right lung. He had been denied any meetings with his family members, whom he has not seen since April 22, 1979.
