Hezbollah’s Nasrallah to be buried in Lebanon on February 23

Hezbollah has announced that the funeral for its long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah, will be held on February 23rd. This comes after Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital months ago. Nasrallah, who served as Hezbollah's Secretary-General for over 30 years, was killed on September 27th as Israel intensified its airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Nasrallah's successor, Naim Qassem, stated in a televised address on Sunday that Nasrallah was killed during "difficult circumstances," forcing the group to temporarily bury him according to religious tradition. Qassem also said that the group has now decided to hold a "grand public funeral procession" for both Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. Safieddine was another senior Hezbollah official killed in an Israeli attack nearly a week after Nasrallah's death.

Qassem confirmed for the first time that Safieddine had been chosen as Nasrallah's successor but was killed before the announcement could be made. He also stated that Safieddine will also be buried as Secretary-General. Nasrallah will be buried in an area "we have chosen between the old and new airport roads" outside Beirut, while Safieddine will be buried in his hometown of Deir Qanoun in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah announced on October 29th that the group's deputy leader, Qassem, had been chosen as leader. This followed the killing of several senior military commanders, which threw the organization into disarray. A ceasefire agreement reached at the end of November ended hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and set a deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, while Hezbollah would withdraw its fighters and weapons from the area, where the Lebanese army would deploy.

That deadline was extended last month to February 18th. Israel has been accused of violating the terms of the ceasefire by refusing to leave Lebanon and continuing sporadic airstrikes in parts of the country. Israel itself has accused Hezbollah of violating the terms of the ceasefire. Hezbollah faced one of its biggest challenges in October 2023 after the Iranian-backed group opened a front against Israel to alleviate pressure on its ally Hamas in Gaza. The group has suffered losses after months of cross-border fighting and Israeli strikes targeting its leadership.