The «security conditions» had not until now been met. The Lebanese Hezbollah announced on Sunday that it would organise a funeral on 23 February for its former leader Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated in late September in an Israeli bombing of the southern suburbs of Beirut.
In a televised speech, Naim Qassem, Hassan Nasrallah's successor at the head of the pro-Iranian movement, promised «a grand and popular funeral (...) worthy of this great figure». He acknowledged that the event had to be postponed given the two months of open warfare between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, from late September to late November 2024.
Naïm Qassem also revealed that the group's senior official, Hashem Safieddine, had been briefly elected to lead Hezbollah upon the death of Hassan Nasrallah, before being killed himself a few days later in an Israeli strike in early October.
Ceasefire largely respected
The funeral of Hashem Safieddine, «in his capacity as secretary-general» of the group, will also be held at the same time, he specified, but he will be buried in his hometown of Deir Qanoun in southern Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah, meanwhile, will be buried south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Following their clash against a backdrop of regional tensions fuelled by the conflict in Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on 27 November in Lebanon. This truce is broadly holding despite mutual accusations of repeated violations.
With AFP
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