Hezbollah did a show of strength On Sunday, an event hoped by Iran-backed extremist groups at an elaborate and vast funeral for assassinated leader Hassan Nasrara Reviving Lebanon's abused images After the latest war with Israel.
Tens of thousands of people from Lebanon and the region flocked to the capital, Beirut, held at a large sports stadium on the outskirts of the city. Thousands were packed into the arena, others spilled down the streets, many carrying pictures of Mr. Nasrara and waving a large Hezbollah flag.
The crowd erupted in screams as the truck carrying Nasrara's co-carried entered the stadium, and the voices of the former Hezbollah leader (cut out of the speech) echoed from the speakers. Some people threw scarves towards the car and wiped away tears. Others chanted: “We are in your service, Nasrara!”
“The large crowds in Lebanon are an expression of loyalty to resistance,” Naim Qassem, the current leader of Hezbollah, said in a video speech she played at the stadium.
“Regardless of what you think, resistance will bearable and will continue to exist,” he added. “Don't mistake our patience for weakness.”
The funeral came on September 27th five months after Israel killed Nasrara and dropped 80 bombs over a few minutes in a bunker just south of Beirut. When Israel killed Nasrara, it enjoyed an almost mythical position among Shia Muslims in Lebanon, eliminating the leader who led Israel's resistance to Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. His death was one of the key moments of the conflict between Iranian proxies and Israel, from which Hezbollah was greatly weakened.
In the months that followed, Israeli forces raided the group, revoking iron grips against Lebanese politics, and many Lebanese blame Hezbollah and dragging the country into one of the deadliest and most destructive wars. is.
Hezbollah and Israel agreed to escape a ceasefire as Hezbollah retreated from southern Lebanon in November and forced him to abandon its base along the Israeli border. Israel agreed to withdraw from Lebanon as part of its ceasefire, but Israeli forces remain in parts of southern Lebanon past the deadline to do so.
Currently, Lebanon is at the inflection point.
After decades of consolidation of power, Hezbollah took part in the war as the country's most dominant political and military force. But it is a shadow of the former self.
It has been gathering momentum among Hezbollah's political opponents within Lebanon to seize power from the group for the first time in decades. The country's newly appointed president, Joseph Own, has pledged to disarm Hezbollah and return his monopoly on military power to the nation.
Last week, the newly appointed Lebanese Cabinet adopted a policy statement that further undermine Hezbollah, laid out the fact that only the state has the right to protect Lebanese territory. This was the first policy statement since the end of the Civil War in 1990 that did not mention the rights of the Lebanese to resist Israeli occupation.
Nasrala's funeral reflected the power struggle in Lebanon, and Hezbollah seized it as an opportunity to reassert himself as a political force.
Hezbollah asked to send a message as he has a large number of supporters on the streets to demonstrate his loyalty to Nasrara. , weakened and the group stays here.
“The funeral is a launchpad,” said Mohanad Hajji Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut. “They are trying to reform themselves,” he said of Nasrara's death, “it was a huge hit because people are taking on a cause.”
The funeral also honored Hashem Safidydeen, who effectively led Hezbollah for the week after Nasrara's death before being killed by Israel.
Many attendees were reminded of Nasrara's oversized role in traveling from Iran, Iraq and Yemen to connect Shiites across the region against Israel. Others in Lebanon spent the night at the stadium and confronted the bitter cold to reserve seats for worship.
“He meant everything to me,” said Rania Ramal, an accountant whose homes in southern Lebanon were destroyed in nearly 14 months of war with Israel. “My house is gone, but I wish I had gone in place of Nasrara,” she added.
There will be no particular ceremony: Mr. Aoun and the newly appointed Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam. Both sent representatives. This is a move that emphasizes efforts to distance themselves from Hezbollah while seeking financial support from the West.
Israel predicted its own force on Sunday, with Israeli fighters roving into Beirut and colliding with several regions in southern Lebanon and targeting what Israeli officials called Hezbollah's military activities did.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz intended the Jets to send a “clear message” that “anyone threatening to destroy Israel and attack Israel, this will be their end.” He said.
The war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out in October 2023 after Lebanese militias began firing in solidarity with Gaza's Palestinian ally Hamas.
The conflict escalated sharply last September, with Israeli forces entering parts of southern Lebanon and launching heavy artillery fires across the country, which lasted about two months before the ceasefire reached.
Within Lebanon, Hezbollah was widely seen as a stinging defeat in the war.
“Hezbollah forced the entire country into this war, but it wasn't strong enough to fight,” said Ali Murae, 34, a delivery driver in Beirut. “The South – the most beautiful part of the country – will be destroyed for Hezbollah. All those who died in the war, that is because of this war by Hezbollah.”
The group is currently facing difficult questions from supporters about whether it can provide the billions of dollars needed to rebuild a town or village that was flattened by the war.
This support is important to revive the group's support among followers whose faith in Hezbollah was tested by this war. After the final war with Israel in 2006, Hezbollah responded quickly with cash handouts bankrolled by Iran. However, this time the response was slower.
The group's main land bridge to receive cash from Iran through Syria was cut off after the Assad dictatorship (a key alliance of Iran and Hezbollah) fell in December by rebels.
Nasrara's loss is also devastating to the group's public image. Nasrara was in charge when the group was a guerrilla army fighting the occupation of Lebanon in southern Israel that ended in 2000, and led the organization as it officially entered Lebanese politics.
He played many roles in the lives of Hezbollah members, working as a religious leader, political strategist and commander. His appeal was unusual among local leaders and was also key to unifying Hezbollah's followers. Kasem, the current leader of the group, does not share Nasrara's height or charisma.
Still, experts warn against writing down Hezbollah.
The ongoing presence of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon breathes new life into Hezbollah's rationality. Armed resistance to Israeli occupation.
And the group still maintains their weapons – in the context of a brewing showdown with the new government, there are many people in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, designated by the US as a terrorist organization in 1997, previously demonstrated an willingness to sacrifice everyone, including Lebanese politicians and journalists.
“They lost the battle against Israel. However, Sami Nader, director of the Institute of Political Science at St. Joseph University of Beirut, mentioned Hezbollah, “They were Israeli.” If they can't use their arms against, will they use them against people within Lebanon? This is the concern.”
Dayana Iwaza and Jacob Lebay Reports of contributions.
