BEIRUT, Lebanon: Tens of thousands of mourners in Lebanon bid farewell to Hezbollah’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah at a mass funeral in Beirut on Sunday, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, last September.
Women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine — Nasrallah’s chosen successor killed in another Israeli airstrike — slowly moved through the crowd.
The September killing of the charismatic leader, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, in a massive Israeli strike dealt a heavy blow to the Lebanese group.
As the funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what Defence Minister Israel Katz said was a “clear message” against anyone who threatens Israel.
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.
Nasrallah’s 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, which was delayed for months over security concerns.
The public funeral began at 1 pm local time (11:00 GMT) on Sunday at Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, which has a capacity of about 78,000 people, was fully packed.
The event kicked off with a speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that was read out at the funeral.
Hezbollah organisers had installed thousands of extra seats on the stadium’s pitch and many more outside, where mourners were able to follow the ceremony on a giant screen. Giant portraits of Nasrallah were plastered on walls and bridges across south Beirut.
Heroes of resistance
As crowds gathered, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s south, including a location about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the border, but also in the east.
Israel’s military said it had struck “sites containing rocket launchers and weapons” in those areas.
The Israeli army in a tweet ahead of the start of the funeral said “the world is a better place”.
Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Lebanon since a November 27 ceasefire 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. Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.
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 Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in attendance, with representatives of Iraq’s main parties 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”.
Sam Heller of the Century Foundation think-tank said it was “important for the group to demonstrate that it remains a major social and political force, despite some of the setbacks it’s been dealt”.
Since Saturday, roads into Beirut have been clogged with carloads of supporters travelling in from Hezbollah’s other power centres in south and east Lebanon.
A funeral procession will take place at the site near the airport highway where Nasrallah will be buried. Safieddine will be interred in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun al-Nahr on Monday.
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.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport would close exceptionally for four hours.
