Hassan Nasrallah, veteran Hizbollah leader who was killed in an Israeli air attack five months ago, was buried Sunday after a ceremony in Beirut attended by large crowds.
Nasrallah’s stuck painting and draped on the yellow flags of the militant group, supporters from Lebanon and beyond the filling of 55,000 Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium countries, much more pouring out on the streets outside. The funeral was intended as a manifestation of force for a movement that has been defeated in its war with Israel.
Many cried like Nasrallah’s caskets and his successor Hashem Safieddine, who ran Hizbollah for just a week before he was killed by Israel, were paraddated through the stadium. Some dumped flowers, while others threw small objects into the caskets in the hope that they would be blessed by contact.
Nasrallah, 64, was killed along with other senior figures in Hizbollah on September 27, when the Israeli air force threw dozens of bombs in one of the group command on the outskirts of Dahiyeh.
As the procession continued on Sunday afternoon, a triangular formation of Israeli F15 and F35 aircraft flew low over the capital, causing panic and rage below. A woman, her face lying with tears, tightened her young son and looked at fear.
The stadium exploded with shouts of defense, with the funeral host, stating that the sound of the planes would not scare anyone. “The noise of our call is greater than all your sounds,” he said, leading the crowd in a call: “In your service, o nasrallah. Death in Israel.”
Nasrallah’s assassination marked a stunning blow just days after Israel escalated its campaign against the Iranian -backed group in a full war, which destroyed its leadership and reduced its weapons reserves.
The killing also stressed how deep Israeli intelligence networks had penetrated a group whose internal discipline was always appreciated.
The war was caused when Hizbollah began hunting rockets to Israel on October 8, 2023 “in solidarity” with Gaza, following the deadly attack by Hamas.
At least 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon – many who are supposed to be Hizbollah fighters – as Israeli missiles rained in areas from which the group attracts its support.
In his 32 years at the helm, Nasrallah turned the Shiite group into the prejudicial force on the Iranian Proxies Regional Network called the Resistance Axis.
Until his death, he was honored not only at home, but throughout the Arab and Muslim world for his protection against the Palestinians and his challenge for Israel.
Many of his supporters on Sunday were still being caught with his death.
“Some of us who came here came with some hope that we will find alive (nasrallah) that he will come out and ease his minds,” said 21-year-old Ali. “But when the casket passed, we realized we had lost all the sense of security.”
“We realized that this country, this region, was dependent on a specific person, and we lost it,” Ali added. “There is nothing that can describe the feeling. Likes as if we have lost our father. Everyone here has lost their father. “
Hadi, an Iraqi writer, said he had flown from Baghdad with a seven delegation. “Nasrallah is not just a martyr for Lebanon, not just for Shiites, but for all Islam.”
Stouch Hizbollah Ally and Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri participated, along with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Ghalibaf, as well as religious leaders, political and militia from Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen.
Israeli troops remain in five hilly positions in Southern Lebanon, despite a ceasefire agreement signed by both countries, which forced a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces to mid -February. Its air forces have also continued to perform air strikes in those that say they are Hizbollah positions, including surprising targets on Sunday morning.
The militant group suffered a further blow when his ally Bashar al-Asad collapsed in Syria last December, disconnecting a vital supply route.
The diminished stature of the group is also reflected in post -war policy in Lebanon. For the first time since the end of the country’s 15-year civil war in 1990, the cabinet manifesto did not include a language that legitimizes the constant Arsenal of Hizbollah.
Neither the president of Liban nor the prime minister participated on Sunday.
In an attempt to increase morality, an address broadcast on the stadium screens from an undiscovered location showed the Hiz Ballah Leader Naim Qassem providing crowds that the group remained “strong”.
“We will not present and will not accept the continuation of the murder and our profession as we look at,” said approach.
The crowds began to dilute as it spoke.
