Funeral ceremonies for Hezbollah's Nasrallah, Safieddine held in Beirut
The Lebanese Shia group urged supporters to attend the funeral in large numbers after suffering major losses in a 14-month war with Israel that killed many senior officials.
Nasrallah was the group’s leader for more than 30 years and one of its founders. / Photo: Reuters
Thousands of mourners have gathered in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, for the funeral of former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and senior Hezbollah member Hashem Safieddine.
Funeral ceremonies for Nasrallah and Safieddine began on Sunday in Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City.
Addressing the ceremony, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem accused Israel of failing to adhere to a ceasefire agreement in southern Lebanon, asserting that his group remained committed to the truce.
“We agreed to the enemy’s request for a ceasefire because we had no interest in prolonging the fighting without a political or military objective,” said Qassem.
“With the deadline for Israel’s withdrawal now passed, the responsibility falls on the Lebanese state,” he added, underlining that Hezbollah remains strong and fully prepared.
Qassem assured that neither Israel nor the US would succeed in pressuring Lebanese officials into submission.
“What they failed to achieve through war, they will not achieve through politics,” he stressed.
Israeli aircraft fly low over Beirut as crowds gather for Hezbollah leader Nasrallah's funeral pic.twitter.com/4UmvcMPkiD
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Assassinated leaders
Nasrallah was assassinated by Israel on September 27, 2024, in a series of air strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs. Safieddine, meanwhile, was targeted on October 3.
The two were temporarily buried in secret locations, and plans for their official funerals were announced earlier this month.
Security forces raised alert levels for the procession, and the Lebanese army took control of the routes leading to the venue.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since November 27, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah that escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, but the deadline was extended to February 18 after Israel refused to comply.
The Israeli army withdrew from southern Lebanese towns on Tuesday, but maintained a military presence at five border outposts.
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