Stupendous farewell to Nasrallah
‘Resistance not over,’ Hezbollah chief stresses Leader: Enduring resistance against oppression, arrogance to continue
Tens of thousands of people bid farewell to Hezbollah’s slain leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah at a mass funeral in Beirut on Sunday, nearly five months after he was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike.
Carrying pictures of Nasrallah and Hezbollah flags, supporters from Lebanon and other countries in the region filled the 55,000-seat Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine – Nasrallah’s chosen successor assassinated in another Israeli air strike – slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag.
Nasrallah was assassinated in Israel’s bombardment of southern Beirut on September 27, 2024. Using 85 tons of explosives, Israeli jets leveled six residential buildings in Dahiyeh, following a week-long bombing campaign that hit many areas from southern Lebanon to Beirut.
As a founding member of Hezbollah in 1982, Nasrallah won renown around the Arab world in May 2000 when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon under relentless attacks by the group under his leadership.
‘Resistance not over’
In a televised address to the ceremony, Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem said Hezbollah would keep following his “path” and rejected any control of “tyrant America” over Lebanon.
“The resistance is not over, the resistance is still present and ready” to face Israel, he said.
“We do not accept the tyrant America to control our country,” Naim Qassem.
“You will not gain through politics what you failed to gain in war,” he said.
Earlier this month, US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said the group was “defeated by Israel,” declaring what she claimed as “the end of Hezbollah’s reign of terror.”
“Know this Americans, if... you try to pressure officials and Lebanon, you will not be able to achieve your goals”, adding “officials in Lebanon know the balance of powers,” Sheikh Qassem said.
“Do not interpret our patience and wisdom in assessing priorities as weakness,” he warned.
Emphasizing Nasrallah’s contributions to the Palestinian cause, he affirmed, “Sayyed Nasrallah’s contribution was great in reviving the Palestinian cause; we will preserve this trust and will continue to tread this path.” He vowed that Hezbollah would remain steadfast, stressing, “We will continue Sayyed Nasrallah’s path, even if our houses should be destroyed over our heads, even if we are all killed.”
Ayatollah Khamenei’s message
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a message to the ceremony warned the enemy that the enduring resistance against oppression and arrogance will continue until it achieves its ultimate objective.
The Leader described martyred Nasrallah as the leading commander of the resistance in the region, saying he is now at the “height of honor.”
Nasrallah’s spirit and path will shine more gloriously each day, illuminating the way for his followers, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Nasrallah speeches were blasted as the mourners raised their fists in the air and chanted, “We are at your service, Nasrallah,” and “We are loyal to the promise, Nasrallah.”
Men, women and children walked in the biting cold to reach the site of the ceremony, that was delayed for months over security concerns.
Since Saturday, roads into Beirut have been clogged with carloads of supporters travelling in from south and east Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television said the movement deployed 25,000 members for crowd control. A security source said 4,000 troops and security personnel were on duty.
Israeli warplanes
As the funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what minister of military affairs Israel Katz said was a “clear message” against anyone who threatens Israel.
The official National News Agency (NNA) also reported Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s south, including a location about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border, but also in the east.
Israel’s military claimed it had struck “sites containing rocket launchers and weapons” in those areas.
Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Lebanon since a November 27 cease-fire deal with Hezbollah ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war.
The funeral comes days after the deadline for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon’s south, with Israeli troops pulling out from all but five locations.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun asked parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to represent him at the ceremony, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was to be represented by a minister.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in attendance, with representatives of Iraq’s main factions also expected to come.
Araghchi, in a speech from Beirut, described the slain leaders as “two heroes of the resistance” and vowed that “the path of resistance will continue.”
Before the funeral, Araghchi and other Iranian officials met Lebanon’s President Aoun.
According to a statement from Aoun’s office, he told the Iranian delegation that Lebanon was “tired of the war of others,” and that it had “paid a heavy price for the Palestinian cause.”