Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Beirut’s Sports City Stadium on Sunday to eulogize Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah nearly five months after his murder in an Israeli airstrike. The funeral, estimated to be the biggest in Lebanon in the last 20 years, witnessed regional dignitaries and thousands of devoted followers.
Nasrallah, who headed Hezbollah for more than three decades, was killed in an Israeli bombing that hit the militant group’s headquarters. His cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine, who was assassinated days afterwards, also was eulogized during the ceremony. Their coffins, shrouded in Hezbollah’s yellow colors, were wheeled through the sea of faces, with people casting flowers and personal belongings towards them as a symbolic appeal to devotion.
Iranian officials including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, participated in the ceremony; underlining Tehran’s backing for Hezbollah. Earlier Lebanese authorities had lifted a ban on flights from Iran for their landing. 
At the same time, things got heated as Israeli fighter jets sailed at low altitude over Beirut during the procession, a messaged from Tel Aviv. Just hours before the funeral in Israel, the Israeli military attacked suspected Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.
Against all odds, Hezbollah continues to maintain its position in Lebanon despite mounting external pressure. Mourners chanted anti-Israeli slogans, while senior party members pledged to adhere to Nasrallah’s course, always proclaiming that the group’s resilience prevails in the midst of ongoing conflict.Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Beirut’s Sports City Stadium on Sunday to eulogize Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah nearly five months after his murder in an Israeli airstrike. The funeral, estimated to be the biggest in Lebanon in the last 20 years, witnessed regional dignitaries and thousands of devoted followers.
Nasrallah, who headed Hezbollah for more than three decades, was killed in an Israeli bombing that hit the militant group’s headquarters. His cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine, who was assassinated days afterwards, also was eulogized during the ceremony. Their coffins, shrouded in Hezbollah’s yellow colors, were wheeled through the sea of faces, with people casting flowers and personal belongings towards them as a symbolic appeal to devotion.
Iranian officials including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, participated in the ceremony; underlining Tehran’s backing for Hezbollah. Earlier Lebanese authorities had lifted a ban on flights from Iran for their landing.
At the same time, things got heated as Israeli fighter jets sailed at low altitude over Beirut during the procession, a messaged from Tel Aviv. Just hours before the funeral in Israel, the Israeli military attacked suspected Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.
Against all odds, Hezbollah continues to maintain its position in Lebanon despite mounting external pressure. Mourners chanted anti-Israeli slogans, while senior party members pledged to adhere to Nasrallah’s course, always proclaiming that the group’s resilience prevails in the midst of ongoing conflict.
