One year after Nasrallah’s assassination, Aoun calls for ‘rallying’ around the state

One year after the assassination by Israel of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has made the monopoly on arms a key plank of his agenda, called on the movement to “rally” around the state, while the party’s allies lauded the former secretary-general’s “sacrifice.”

“This painful anniversary should be a moment of meeting and consolidation of the belief that Lebanon’s salvation lies only in one state, one army and constitutional institutions that guarantee sovereignty and preserve dignity,” Joseph Aoun wrote in a message posted Saturday on the presidency’s X account. The president added that “protecting and honoring the sacrifices made by the sons of this nation, whatever their affiliations,” can only be achieved through “unity of purpose and the rallying of all around the project of a single, strong and just state.”

“The dangers now threatening Lebanon —security, political or economic — can only be confronted through national solidarity, avoiding divisions, and the conviction that true protection exists only under the authority of the Lebanese state, the sole holder of legitimacy and guarantor of security for all Lebanese, without distinction or discrimination,” he said. The president and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have pledged to disarm all militias, including Hezbollah, a demand the movement rejects outright.

Hassan Nasrallah was killed in massive Israeli strikes on Sept. 27, 2024, in the southern suburb of Beirut, during the war between the Iran-backed militia and Israel. Several senior figures were killed alongside him. His likely successor, Hashem Safieddine, was killed a few days later in the same district.

‘Companion on the road,’ says Berri

Amal Movement leader and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri paid tribute to his former “companion on the road.” “You always used to say we must confront evil even if it leads us to martyrdom, because that is what strips away all masks … Through your ultimate sacrifice, you have achieved victory and martyrdom,” he wrote. Addressing Nasrallah and all the “martyrs,” Berri said: “You will remain by our side until the end, to preserve Lebanon and reject discord while protecting human dignity and civil peace, necessary against the absolute evil that is Israel.”

Religious and political tributes

Jaafari mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan delivered a grandiloquent address, describing the former Hezbollah leader as “the icon of resistance and of Lebanese youth,” and “the very essence of the nation’s soul beyond sectarian divisions.” “He is of the fig and the olive, of the earth and the longing — the substance of the South, the Bekaa, the suburbs, the mountain shoulder and the North,” Kabalan said, elevating Nasrallah to a near-mythic stature for many Shiites. He compared Nasrallah to historic religious figures and hailed his “martyrdom” as central to the “resistance” and the defense of Lebanon against external pressures.

Marada Movement MP Tony Frangieh, close to Hezbollah but who has recently backed the executive’s calls for a monopoly on arms, wrote on X that Nasrallah “will remain a symbol to all free people of the earth.” “He defended his convictions with all his strength, to the point of martyrdom. He was and will remain the hero of victories, notably the 2000 liberation,” Frangieh said, referring to Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Calling for an end to “sterile quarrels,” he urged “a new page based on national interest, unity and the stability of our homeland,” demanding an end to Israeli violations, enforcement of international resolutions and extension of state sovereignty over the entire territory, especially lands still occupied by the enemy.

Un an après l'assassinat de Nasrallah, Aoun appelle au « ralliement » autour de l'État