
Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters gathered in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday evening to pay tribute to Hassan Nasrallah, the party's iconic and emblematic former secretary general, who was killed in a massive Israeli strike on Sept. 27.
This was not the official funeral announced on Wednesday, the day the cease-fire with Israel came into effect, rather Hezbollah had planned to organize a "popular funeral" for Nasrallah, according to a senior official in the party, Mahmoud Comati.
Comati said that this funeral ceremony, whose date has yet to be set, will also honor Nasrallah's prospective successor, Hashem Safieddine, whose death was officially announced on Oct. 23, more than two weeks after he was targeted in another massive Israeli strike on Oct. 4.
In both of the assassinations, Israeli jets dropped dozens of 2,000-pound bombs, a weapon so lethal that the Biden administration paused shipments of the U.S.-made ammunition in May, fearing Israel would use them in densely populated areas, which the suburbs are.
As seen the photos taken by our photographer Mohammad Yassin, a large crowd gathered at the site of the strike that killed Nasrallah and a huge crater is still visible. A sort of mausoleum seems to have been erected at the very center of the impact site.
Loudspeakers broadcast speeches by the Hezbollah leader, known for his charismatic public appearances and whose giant portraits adorned all the damaged, but standing, buildings surrounding the site.
"Sayyed Hassan was everything to us. If only we had died and he had stayed alive," Lama, who came with her five-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son, told AFP. "He has left a great void."
"Labbayka ya Nasrallah (At your orders, Nasrallah)," young people repeat, waving the flag Hezbollah, characterized, at least before this year's war, as the most powerful non-state actor in the world. "I can't believe he's dead," said Lea, an 18-year-old student who has come with her friends.
A mourner holds a portrait of Hassan Nasrallah and Hachem Safieddine killed by Israeli strikes, during the "public funeral" held on Nov. 30, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
A mausoleum was erected on the site of attack that killed Hassan Nasrallah and an unknown number of civilians. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
A mourner holds a candle and a Hezbollah flag during the event. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)