Massive crowds mourn Hezbollah's slain leader Nasrallah
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Beirut to bid farewell to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his designated successor Hashem Safieddine, both of whom were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Delegations from Iran, Iraq and Yemen attended the mass funeral, delayed by the Israeli withdrawal and under strict security measures. Tensions with Israel remain high following new bombings in southern Lebanon.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners paid tribute to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at a mass funeral in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, dealing a major blow to the Iran-backed group.
Hezbollah's current leader, Naim Qassem, spoke via giant screens from an undisclosed location and vowed to continue the fight against Israel. Israeli warplanes flew over the funeral, after which Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told X that the planes "are sending a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel, that will be the end for them. You will specialize in funerals and we will specialize in victories."
A truck carrying the coffins of Hassan Nasrallah and his successor, Hashem Safieddine, who were killed in successive Israeli attacks, drove through the stadium. Nasrallah led Hezbollah for 32 years and was killed on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, a stronghold of the Shiite militia. He was 64 when he died, having risen to regional prominence following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and during the war against Israel in 2006.
His cousin Safieddine suffered the same fate in October, after being designated to succeed him. Hezbollah waited until the Israeli army had almost completely withdrawn from southern Lebanon on February 18 to organize its first mass demonstration since the end of the war. Dressed in black, crying and carrying images of Nasrallah and Hezbollah flags, Lebanese and regional supporters packed the 55,000-capacity Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium in Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.
"Nasrallah, we remain faithful to the promise," the participants repeated, with their fists raised, throwing flowers on the coffins and waving yellow flags of the group. "He lives in us," said Naim Qassem, the current leader of Hezbollah, in a speech broadcast live on television and giant screens from an undisclosed location. He added that Hezbollah remains "strong" and that "we will continue on that path."
"We will not submit and we will not accept the continuation of the killings and occupation as we watch," Qassem said. "The resistance" against Israel "is not over," he added, warning that his party will not accept the United States "controlling Lebanon," where a new president, Joseph Aoun, and the government are supported by Washington.
Lebanon no longer wants "foreign wars on its territory," Aoun said as he welcomed the Iranian delegation, which had travelled to Beirut for the funeral. "Countries should not interfere in the internal affairs of other states," added the president, who did not attend the ceremony, as did the prime minister. The authorities were represented by the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.
Following a ceremony, they joined a funeral procession outside the stadium before Nasrallah was buried nearby. A Lebanese security source estimated the crowd at around one million people.
The women held portraits of fighters killed in the war that decimated Hezbollah's leadership. Um Mahdi, 55, said she had travelled from the Bekaa Valley in the east "to see him [Nasrallah] one last time and to see his mausoleum".
Among the foreign delegations, Iran was represented by Parliament Speaker Mohamed-Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Also present were representatives of pro-Iranian Iraqi factions and other allies of Hezbollah and Iran in their relations with Israel. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to continue "resistance" to Israel and paid tribute to Nasrallah in several messages released for the occasion.
After the ceremony, the participants headed to the mausoleum dedicated to Nasrallah, near the airport, south of Beirut. The body of the Hezbollah chief had been buried in a secret location pending the end of the war.
Ceasefire with Israel
Despite a ceasefire in place since November 27 and the Israeli army's major withdrawal from southern Lebanon, its air force continues to attack what it says are Hezbollah positions across Lebanon and troops continue to hold five hilltop positions along the border.
Israeli troops have also detained Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, and are holding the bodies of slain Hezbollah fighters in custody.
Qassem said Hezbollah would exert pressure to return the bodies to their homes. He also said Hezbollah considered the five Israeli positions an occupation and that it was up to the Lebanese government to achieve a full withdrawal through diplomatic means. "We decided to fire when we deemed it appropriate and we are patient when we deemed it appropriate," he said.
The Israeli air force carried out several airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon on Sunday. Israel said it had targeted rocket launchers that posed an "imminent threat." They also flew over Beirut twice during the funeral, prompting chants of "Death to Israel."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told X that the planes "flying over Hassan Nasrallah's funeral are sending a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel, that will be the end for him. You will specialize in funerals and we will specialize in victories."
