![A view of the banner displaying former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as the preparations for his funeral continue in Beirut, Lebanon on February 21, 2025. [Houssam Shbaro - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AA-20250221-37124495-37124490-PREPARATIONS_CONTINUE_FOR_NASRALLAHS_FUNERAL_CEREMONY-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Lebanon’s Hezbollah will bury its former leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli air strike, in a mass funeral, Reuters reports.
Nasrallah was killed on 27 September in an Israeli air strike as he met commanders in a bunker in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Nasrallah led the Shia Muslim 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 Hezbollah for one week after Nasrallah’s death before he was also killed by Israel. 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 Hezbollah still exists, that it is still the main Shia actor in Lebanon,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Centre.
Israel killed thousands of Hezbollah fighters and inflicted huge destruction in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon where its supporters live.
READ: Israel army strikes Syria-Lebanon border
Sheikh Sadeq Al-Nabulsi, a cleric close to Hezbollah, 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 Hezbollah’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. An Iraqi delegation including senior Shia politicians and militia commanders will fly to Beirut for the funeral on a presidential plane, two Iraqi lawmakers said. Yemen’s Houthis will send a senior delegation led by the Grand Mufti, Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported.
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.
After he was killed, Nasrallah was buried temporarily next to his son, Hadi, who died fighting for Hezbollah in 1997.
His official funeral was scheduled to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon under the terms of a US-backed ceasefire which ended last year’s war.
Though Israel has largely withdrawn from the south, its troops continue to hold five hilltop positions in the area, in violation of the ceasefire deal.
READ: 11 more bodies recovered in southern Lebanon after Israeli withdrawal