Funeral procession of killed Hamas member Hadi Mustafa in the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp in Sour on 14 March 2024. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Dozens of people attended the funeral of Hadi Mustafa, the member of Hamas killed Wednesday in an Israeli drone strike that targeted his car south of the Lebanese coastal city of Sour. The funeral took place Thursday in the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp, where Mustafa lived and which is located next to where he was killed, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the south reported.
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal delivered a recorded message following the funeral procession in which he emphasized “the historical significance of Palestinian refugee camps as witnesses to resistance and revolution, highlighting the resilience of the Palestinian people against occupation policies.” According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Rashidieh is the second largest camp in Lebanon in terms of population.
The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X Wednesday that Mustafa was a "central member" who "directed sabotage cells and field operations in several countries," and was a key figure in Hamas' "construction department," headed by Samir Fandi, a close associate of Saleh al-Arouri. Both were killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Jan. 2. When contacted by L’Orient Today, Hamas did not give details on the role Mustafa played within the organization.
As the funeral procession came to a close, those in attendance, which included sheikhs, representatives of Palestinian factions, political groups, civil society activists, and participants from all Palestinian camps across Lebanon bid farewell to Mustafa's family, sharing their condolences. His body was then carried to al-Farouq Mosque, where funeral prayers were held before his burial. Chants calling for “resistance, revenge for martyrs' blood, and unity behind the resistance’s rifle” filled the air, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South reported.
Participants also angrily shouted slogans condemning Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, urging “escalation of resistance and unity against such injustices."