Lebanon’s Hezbollah will on Sunday hold a funeral for its former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The public ceremony for Nasrallah, who was killed by an Israeli strike in September, is set to be “highly political” says expert Albert Kostanian, who hosts one of Lebanon’s leading politics broadcasts.
Hezbollah will on Sunday hold a public funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs for its former secretary general and emblematic leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27 during a massive Israeli strike on his headquarters.
The Shiite leader, who had been head of Hezbollah since 1992, was buried in a secret location until an official funeral could be organised. On Sunday he will be reburied in a plot near the Beirut airport road. The airport, which has been the site of tensions between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army in recent days, is expected to close for four hours.
Along with hundreds of thousands of mourners who are expected to attend, representatives from “nearly 79 countries will be present” including Iran, which pledged “broad public and official participation”, Daher said.
The ceremony will also pay tribute to Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s successor, who was also killed by Israeli strikes in early October.
France24/ AFP