Hezbollah says funeral for slain leader Hassan Nasrallah 23 February

Ahram Online , Monday 3 Feb 2025

Hezbollah announced the funeral of its longtime leader will take place on 23 February, five months after he was assassinated in a series of targetted Israeli airstrikes in a southern Beirut suburb.

lebanon
File photo: The slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah .AP

 

Hezbollah's Secretary-General Naim Qassem made the announcement in a prerecorded speech on Monday.

The funeral procession will also commemorate Hashem Safieddine, who was assassinated by Israel shortly after the assassination of Nasrallah.

It came days after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the Israeli war on Lebanon was extended until 18 February.

Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah on 27 September after a series of Israeli airstrikes struck several buildings in a southern Beirut suburb. A top security aide said Nasrallah was inside the group's war operations room when the strikes occurred.

The Israeli war on Lebanon in the fall of 2024 killed and wounded thousands of civilians and destroyed thousands of homes.

On the other side, Hezbollah launched thousands of rockets against Israeli military bases, causing serious damage and widespread disruption to day-to-day life in Israel.

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah from 1992 until he was killed, was seen as a transformative leader of the group, helping it grow from a local group into a national force with an influential political presence in the Lebanese political system and beyond.

Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli troops are supposed to gradually withdraw from south Lebanon, as Hezbollah’s fighters withdraw north of the Litani River and Lebanese army soldiers deploy across the south.

In his speech, Qassem praised the residents of villages under Israeli occupation who have been taking massive risks to return to their homes.

“The South says that there is no possibility for Israel to remain in it, there is no possibility for Israel to remain an occupier, and let everyone know that the sacrifices, no matter how great, will ultimately lead to the liberation of the land and the exit of Israel,” said Qassem.

Last week, 24 Lebanese seeking to return home in south Lebanon were killed after Israeli troops opened fire on them, according to the health ministry.

On Sunday, Israeli forces opened fire to disperse protesters in the southern villages of Yaroun and Kfar Kila. The Lebanese Health Ministry did not announce any casualties.

Short link: