TEHRAN: Lebanon’s Hezbollah will bury its former leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday (today) nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, in a mass funeral aimed at showing political strength after the group emerged badly weakened from last year’s war.
Nasrallah was killed on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike as he met commanders in a bunker in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stunning blow in the early phase of an Israeli offensive that has left the Iran-backed group a shadow of its former self.
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Revered by Hezbollah supporters, Nasrallah led the group through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation into a military force with regional sway and becoming one of the most prominent Arab figures in generations.
The funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs will also honour Hashem Safieddine, who led Hezbollah for one week after Nasrallah’s death before he was also killed by Israel, underlining how deeply Israeli intelligence had penetrated the paramilitary group. He will be buried in the south on Monday.
PREPARATIONS MADE AMID FULL SECURITY
Preparations are underway for the public funeral ceremony for former Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes last year, in Beirut, Lebanon.
People carry flags as they walk together to attend the funeral while Lebanese army members are securing the area.
Iranians in Tehran said on Saturday (yesterday) they would remember and honour the memory of the slain former leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Some said they remained faithful to Hezbollah and the funeral is intended to show the group’s political strength after it emerged badly weakened from Israel’s war last year.
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Nasrallah’s death was a huge blow to Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards established Hezbollah in 1982. It was also a blow to allied militias across the region, which also held him high regard.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will attend the funeral ceremony at Lebanon’s biggest sports arena – Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, an Iranian official said.