Hezbollah has demonstrated a force Sunday with developed and tentacular funerals for his murdered leader, Hassan Nasrallah, an event that the militant group supported by Iran hopes will revive her battered image in Lebanon After the last war with Israel.
Tens of thousands of people from Lebanon and the region flocked to the capital, Beirut, for the service, which was held in a large sports stadium on the outskirts of the city. Thousands of people have thrilled in the arena, while others have spread in the streets, many carrying photos of Mr. Nasrallah and waving large hezbollah flags.
When a truck carrying the coffin of Mr. Nasrallah entered the stadium, the crowd broke out of cries and cries while the voice of the former Hezbollah chief – cut off from his speeches – resounded speakers. Some people have thrown scarves to the vehicle, wiping tears. Others sang: “We renew the oath, Nasrallah!”
The “massive crowd in Lebanon is an expression of loyalty to resistance,” said the current Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, in a video speech played in the stadium.
“The resistance continues and remains present, no matter what you can think,” he added. “Do not confuse our patience with weakness.”
The funeral occurs five months after Israel killed Mr. Nasrallah on September 27, dropping 80 bombs on several minutes on his bunker just south of Beirut. By killing Mr. Nasrallah, Israel eliminated a leader who enjoyed an almost mythical status among the Shiite Muslims of Lebanon and led their resistance against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. His death was one of the founding moments of the confrontation between Iranian proxies and Israel, of which Hezbollah emerged considerably weakened.
In the months that followed, the Israeli forces beat the group, and its iron grip on Lebanon politics defeated, many Lebanese accusing Hezbollah for having trained the country in one of its most wars murderers and the most destructive.
Hezbollah and Israel accepted a ceasefire in November which forced Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon and abandon its border along the border with Israel. While Israel agreed to withdraw from Lebanon as part of this truce, the Israeli forces remained in certain parts of the south of Lebanon after the deadline to do so.
Now Lebanon is at an inflection point.
After decades of power consolidation, Hezbollah entered the war as the most dominant political and military force in the country. But it has become the shadow of his old self.
There is momentum among Hezbollah’s political opponents in Lebanon to use the group’s power for the first time in decades. The new president of the country, Michel Aoun, promised to disarm Hezbollah and return the monopoly of military power to the state.
Last week, the new Lebanese firm adopted a policy declaration which took a direct blow on Hezbollah, explaining that the State had the right to defend the territory of Lebanon. It was the first political declaration since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990 which did not mention the right of the Lebanese people to resist the Israeli occupation – a line which has long contributed to legitimizing the existence of Hezbollah.
The funeral of Mr. Nasrallah reflected the struggle of power playing in Lebanon, with the Hezbollah which seized it as an opportunity to reaffirm itself as a political force.
With a crowd of supporters in the streets to show their loyalty to Mr. Nasrallah, Hezbollah sought to send a message: even if his leaders were killed, his chests were sewn, his Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, the tilting and Its boss, Iran, Iran, weakened, the group is there to stay.
“Funeral is a launch,” Mohanad Hage Ali, a principal researcher at Carnegie Middle East Center, told Beirut. “They try to reinvent themselves” and use the death of Mr. Nasrallah “as a mobilization tool to rally the people around their cause, which took a big hit.”
The funeral also honored Hashem Safieddine, who actually directed Hezbollah for a week after Mr. Nasrallah’s death before he was also killed by Israel.
Many present had traveled from Iran, Iraq and Yemen, offering a reminder of the role derived from Mr. Nasrallah uniting the Shiites throughout the region against Israel. Others from Lebanon had spent the night in the stadium, braving the bitter cold to guarantee a seat for the service.
“He wanted to say everything for me,” said Rania Rammal, a accountant whose house in southern Lebanon was destroyed during the hezbollah’s almost 14 months war with Israel. “My house left, but I would have liked to have left instead of Nasrallah,” she added.
In particular absent from the ceremony: Mr. Aoun and the newly appointed Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam. The two sent representatives in their place – a decision that has highlighted their efforts to distance themselves from Hezbollah while they push financial support from the West.
Israel projected his own show of strength on Sunday, with Israeli hunting planes roaring on Beirut and air strikes hitting several regions of the east and southern Lebanon, targeting what Israeli officials have described as a military activity of Hezbollah .
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the jets were supposed to send a “clear message” that “whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attack Israel – it will be their end”.
The war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out in October 2023 after the Lebanese militia began to shoot Israeli military positions in solidarity with its Palestinian ally, Hamas, in Gaza.
The conflict was strongly intensified last September, the Israeli forces invading parts in southern Lebanon and the launch of an intense bombardment across the country which lasted about two months before the end of the ceasefire.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah was largely considered to have undergone a spicy defeat in the war.
“Hezbollah forced the whole country in this war, but was not powerful enough to fight,” said Ali Mraay, 34, delivery driver in Beirut. “The South – the most beautiful part of the country – is destroyed because of Hezbollah. All those who died in war are because of this war by Hezbollah. »»
The group is now faced with difficult questions from its supporters to find out if it can provide the billions of dollars necessary to rebuild flattened cities and villages during the war.
This support will be essential to relaunch the support of the group among the disciples whose faith in Hezbollah was tested by this war. After his last war with Israel, in 2006, Hezbollah responded immediately with documents in banking by Iran. But his response was slower this time.
The main terrestrial bridge of the group to receive money from Iran to Syria was cut after the Assad dictatorship – an important ally for Iran and Hezbollah – was overthrown by rebels in December.
The loss of Mr. Nasrallah was also devastating for the group’s public image. Nasrallah took care of when the group was a guerrilla warfare fighting the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000, and led the organization when it officially entered the Lebanese policy.
He has occupied many roles in the life of Hezbollah members, acting as a religious leader, political strategist and commander -in -chief. Its charm – a rarity among the leaders of the region – was also essential to unify the disciples of Hezbollah. The current leader of the group, Mr. Qassem, does not share the stature or charisma of Mr. Nasrallah.
However, experts warn against the writing of Hezbollah.
The continuous presence of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon breathes a new life to the raison d’être of Hezbollah: armed resistance against Israeli occupation.
And the group still maintains an arsenal which – in the context of its confrontation of brewing with the new government – has a lot in Lebanon on the tip.
Hezbollah, which the United States has appointed as a terrorist organization in 1997, previously showed its desire to sacrifice anyone – including Lebanese politicians and journalists – who dispute its grip on power.
“They lost their battle with Israel. But now there is a concern about what they will do then, “said Sami Nader, director of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Saint Joseph, referring to Hezbollah. “If they cannot use their arms against Israel, will they use them against people inside Lebanon?” This is concern.
Dayana Iwaza And Jacob Roubai Contributed reports.
