Yesterday’s funeral of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his successor, held five months late, was intended as a show of force for the organization and to prove that despite its losses in the war, Hezbollah is alive and well and enjoys broad support in its struggle against Israel. The funeral ceremony was meticulously planned to brand it as a historic event and to preserve Nasrallah’s memory as a central figure in regional history and as a symbol of resistance. Hundreds of thousands of people, mainly from Lebanon’s Shiite population (although not over a million, as the organizers claimed), attended the ceremony. Nasrallah was given a central burial site in Beirut, which is expected to become a pilgrimage site.
Despite the broad participation of representatives from the Shiite axis, led by a high-ranking delegation from Iran, the grand and elaborate ceremony was overshadowed by the absence of senior figures from Lebanon’s new leadership, as well as from the Arab world and international actors. Lebanese media highlighted the remarks of President Aoun in a meeting with the Iranian delegation, where he stated that Lebanon is tired of fighting others’ wars after paying a heavy price for the Palestinian cause. This was compounded by discontent over low-altitude flyovers by Israeli fighter jets during the ceremony, alongside several IDF strikes against Hezbollah targets.
In the main (recorded) speech at the ceremony, the organization’s new secretary-general, Naim Qassem, declared that Hezbollah, which had proven its strength in the war, is entering a new phase in which it is transferring responsibility for the struggle against Israel to the Lebanese state. However, the organization still adheres to Nasrallah’s path of resistance and will act against Israel in the future according to circumstances. Qassem’s vague commitment regarding the organization’s strategy, alongside reports of internal disagreements among the remaining senior figures in Hezbollah about its future direction, reveals that Hezbollah, weakened and leaderless after Nasrallah’s death, is at a crossroads. Israel, for its part, should see this as an opportunity to continue weakening the organization and preventing its recovery through both military action and diplomatic means.
Yesterday’s funeral of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his successor, held five months late, was intended as a show of force for the organization and to prove that despite its losses in the war, Hezbollah is alive and well and enjoys broad support in its struggle against Israel. The funeral ceremony was meticulously planned to brand it as a historic event and to preserve Nasrallah’s memory as a central figure in regional history and as a symbol of resistance. Hundreds of thousands of people, mainly from Lebanon’s Shiite population (although not over a million, as the organizers claimed), attended the ceremony. Nasrallah was given a central burial site in Beirut, which is expected to become a pilgrimage site.
Despite the broad participation of representatives from the Shiite axis, led by a high-ranking delegation from Iran, the grand and elaborate ceremony was overshadowed by the absence of senior figures from Lebanon’s new leadership, as well as from the Arab world and international actors. Lebanese media highlighted the remarks of President Aoun in a meeting with the Iranian delegation, where he stated that Lebanon is tired of fighting others’ wars after paying a heavy price for the Palestinian cause. This was compounded by discontent over low-altitude flyovers by Israeli fighter jets during the ceremony, alongside several IDF strikes against Hezbollah targets.
In the main (recorded) speech at the ceremony, the organization’s new secretary-general, Naim Qassem, declared that Hezbollah, which had proven its strength in the war, is entering a new phase in which it is transferring responsibility for the struggle against Israel to the Lebanese state. However, the organization still adheres to Nasrallah’s path of resistance and will act against Israel in the future according to circumstances. Qassem’s vague commitment regarding the organization’s strategy, alongside reports of internal disagreements among the remaining senior figures in Hezbollah about its future direction, reveals that Hezbollah, weakened and leaderless after Nasrallah’s death, is at a crossroads. Israel, for its part, should see this as an opportunity to continue weakening the organization and preventing its recovery through both military action and diplomatic means.