A Hezbollah supporter holds a placard with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah next to the rubble of a completely destroyed building in the southern suburbs of Beirut on 2 Oct. 2024. (Credit: AFP)
One hundred days after the assassination of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s head of the Liaison and Coordination Unit, Wafic Safa, held a press conference at the scene of the assassination and announced that "Nasrallah’s funeral will take place after the expiration of the 60-day period" set for the implementation of ceasefire conditions, which ends on Jan. 26, 2025.
A source close to Hezbollah told L’Orient Today, however, that “a joint funeral ceremony will be held for both Nasrallah and [Hashem] Safieddine and may take place a few weeks after the 60-day period is over,” assuring that the delay is due to logistical reasons and “not political ones.”
Safieddine was considered a potential successor to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General even before Nasrallah’s assassination, but he was himself killed a few days later. He had previously served as head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, a key leadership position responsible for overseeing the group’s social, economic and administrative programs, including its network of schools, hospitals, and welfare services.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah mentioned in mid-December the possibility of holding two separate burials.
'Southern suburbs of Beirut'
Regarding the funeral’s location, Wafic Safa stated, “Hezbollah has decided to hold Nasrallah’s funeral in the southern suburbs of Beirut,” emphasizing that “his presence remains alive within the resistance, its fighters and the people.”
The cease-fire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, effective Nov. 27, 2024, established a 60-day period during which Israel is required to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah must relocate its fighters north of the Litani River, leaving only the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL as authorized armed entities in the region.
Kassem Kassir, an analyst close to Hezbollah, confirmed to L’Orient Today on Sunday that Nasrallah’s funeral will take place after the 60-day period ends, “but preparations are ongoing.”
Hezbollah wants to “ensure that roads are open and available for mourners coming to attend the funeral,” the source explained.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sept. 27, four days after the escalation of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
In early October, a memorial ceremony for Nasrallah was held in Tehran in the presence of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nasrallah was temporarily buried in a secret location out of fear that his funeral would be targeted by Israel. This measure was taken to respect Islamic customs, which require the dead to be buried quickly. Muslim rites — both Shiite and Sunni — allow for temporary burial in exceptional circumstances.