Hundreds of thousands at the funeral of Hezbollah boss Nasrallah

Lebanon

Hundreds of thousands at the funeral of Hezbollah boss Nasrallah

Father figure, leader and one of the greatest enemies of Israel: Hisbollah boss Nasrallah is grave to grave under grief of the masses. Israel’s military flies in parallel air strikes.

It is a farewell to a leadership figure and a demonstration of strength: the Lebanese Hezbollah militia said goodbye to its long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah at a mass event. Five months after his killing by the Israeli military, he was buried in a side of the site. Meanwhile, the army of the neighboring country – despite a current ceasefire – attacked destinations in Lebanon and let fighter jets and drones fly over Beirut during the ceremony.

Israel’s army killed the long -time leader of the Iran -supported Shiite organization last September in a suburb of Beiruts on a massive air raid. It was the hardest blow for the Hisbollah in years. Because for his followers, Nasrallah was more than just a leader.

Under Nasrallah’s leadership, the organization developed into a political and military power in Lebanon. In the Middle East he formed the Hisbollah into a central player. He stylized himself as a protector of the Shiite community and – supposedly invincible – opponents of Israel. Among other things, the EU and the USA, on the other hand, classify the Hisbollah as a terrorist organization.

Lebanese security circles estimate that more than 400,000 visitors from Lebanon and abroad were on the streets to pay the last honor. Local media also reported hundreds of thousands of visitors. A memorial ceremony took place in the largest stadium in the country. The participants also crowded around the fully occupied stadium-often dressed in black and with Hezbollah flags and Nasrallah portraits, as reporters from the German Press Agency reported. Large quantities followed the ceremony on canvases.

At the start, a speech by the Iranian religious leader, Ali Chamenei, was read out. After a prayer, the coffins rolled Nasrallah and the also killed official Haschim Safi al-Din on a truck. At the sight of the coffins, draped with yellow Hezbollah flags, people broke out into cheers and tears, threw scarves and other clothing.

“Nasrallah loved the people and the people loved him. He is the leader of our thoughts and hearts,” said Hisbollah General Secretary Naim Kassim in a video assigned by video. “Even if our houses are destroyed above our heads, we will not give up the resistance.” The Hisbollah is “strongly equipped and numerous,” said Kassim.

Iran, the most important supporter of the militia, showed presence: In addition to a delegation of important clergymen who were sent by religious leader Chameni, Abbas Araghtschi and Parliament President Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf reported, as the Tasnim news agency reported. Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and representatives from Iraq, where the Hisbollah has great support among the Shiite population, also arrived. In Iraq as well as in Yemen, memorial ceremonies took place in parallel.

Subsequently, a large procession moved to the Beiruter suburb Burdsch al-Baradschne. When arriving, crowds of people crowd into the coffin. The funeral finally took place in the exclusion of the public, as local media reported. The Hisbollah wants to build a shrine for Nasrallah at the grave.

Safi al-Din’s grave is located in his hometown Dair Kanun in the South Libanon.

Nasrallah’s death has torn a deep gap in the hierarchy of militia, which was already weakened by the war with Israel – also into her identity. “He was like a father figure,” says Hisbollah expert Hanin Ghaddar from the Washington Institute of the dpa. Symbolically, not only Nasrallah is buried, but the entire Hisbollah. The successor Kassim does not reach the legacy. He lacks charisma and persuasiveness. Due to the recent war with Israel, the Hisbollah had lost almost everything.

In order to ensure the existence of the organization, the support by the Shiite population in Lebanon must be completely established. “Only Hassan Nasrallah can do that,” says expert Ghaddar. “So you have dug him again.” In doing so, she referred to reports that Nasrallah was temporarily buried in another place after his killing and was then excavated for the ceremony. The funeral service should serve as a sign that the militia is not defeated.

For a year, the Hisbollah fought a war with Israel, through which the militia also lost support for many Lebanese. Especially in the south and in the suburbs of Beiruts, he caused great destruction. Thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands driven out of their houses.