Beirut (TDI): Tens of thousands of people gathered on the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday to pay their respects to Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah, nearly five months after he was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike.
The murder of Nasrallah, who led the Shiite Muslim group through decades of conflict with Israel and oversaw its transformation into a military force with regional influence, was one of the opening salvos in an Israeli escalation that badly weakened Hezbollah.
Carrying pictures of Nasrallah and Hezbollah flags, supporters gathered for a mass funeral for Nasrallah and other slain leaders of the group at a stadium in Beirut.
The 55,000-seat Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium was nearly full hours before the ceremony was set to begin.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, an Iraqi delegation including Shiite politicians and militia commanders, and Yemen’s Houthis delegation were expected to attend.
The mass funeral is aimed at showing strength after Hezbollah emerged battered from war with Israel, which killed most of its leadership and thousands of fighters and wreaked havoc on south Lebanon.
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The funeral was also being held for Hashem Safieddine, who led Hezbollah for a week after Nasrallah’s killing.
Safieddine was assassinated in an Israeli attack before he had been publicly announced as Nasrallah’s successor.
After his death, Nasrallah was buried temporarily next to his son, Hadi, who died fighting for the group in 1997.
His official funeral was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon under the terms of a US-backed ceasefire deal which ended last year’s war.
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Though Israel has largely withdrawn from the south, its forces continue to hold 5 hilltop positions in the area, and Israel carried out airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, arguing it had identified Hezbollah activity.
The conflict spiralled after Hezbollah opened fire in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas at the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023.
