Hizbollah to bury Nasrallah in mass funeral on Sunday

Lebanon's Hizbollah will bury its former leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, in a mass funeral aimed at showing political strength after the group emerged badly weakened from last year's war.

Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27 in an Israeli airstrike as he met commanders in a bunker in Beirut's southern suburbs, a stunning blow in the early phase of an Israeli offensive that has left the group a shadow of its former self.

Revered by Hizbollah supporters, Nasrallah led the Shiite group through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation into a military force with regional sway and becoming one of the most prominent Arab figures in generations.

The funeral in Beirut's southern suburbs will also honour Hashem Safieddine, who led Hizbollah for one week after Nasrallah's death before he was also killed by Israel, underlining how deeply Israeli intelligence had penetrated the paramilitary group. He will be buried in the south on Monday.

"The funeral is a launchpad for the next phase. A great funeral that draws hundreds of thousands is a way of telling everyone that Hizbollah still exists, that it is still the main Shiite actor in Lebanon," said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Centre.

Israel killed thousands of Hizbollah fighters and inflicted huge destruction in Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon where its supporters live.

Its weakened stature has been reflected in Lebanon's post-war politics, with the group unable to impose its will in the formation of a new government and language legitimising its arsenal omitted from the new cabinet's policy statement.

Sheikh Sadeq Al Nabulsi, a cleric close to Hizbollah, said adversaries in Lebanon and abroad believed the group had been defeated, but the funeral would be a message that this was not the case. It would be a "battle to prove Hizbollah's existence."

The ceremony will be held at Lebanon's biggest sports arena — Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

Nasrallah will then be buried at a dedicated site nearby.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will attend, an Iranian official said. Several leaders of Iraqi Shi'ite militias are also expected to attend.

Iraqi Airways has added flights to Beirut to cope with extra demand from Iraqis who want to travel to Beirut for the funeral, a spokesperson for the Iraqi transportation ministry said.

Reuters