Tens of thousands of people attend Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem tells mass ceremony at stadium in Lebanese capital that group's former chief 'lives within us'

Tens of thousands attended the funeral of the assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday at the Camille Chamoun Sports Stadium in the Beirut suburbs, in a mass ceremony aimed at signalling strength after a 14‑month war with Israel which has left the group severely weakened.

Mr Nasrallah, who led the Iran-backed militant group for more than three decades, was killed on September 27 in a massive Israeli attack on the city amid an intense air campaign in Lebanon. The mood in the crowd swung between grief and vengefulness, with chants of “death to America, death to Israel” and “we will serve you Nasrallah” interspersed with prayers.

Weeping men and women clad in black held pictures of Mr Nasrallah and his cousin, Hashem Safieddine, who was Hezbollah's leader for one week after Mr Nasrallah's death, before also being killed by Israel. A yellow sea of Hezbollah flags stretched as far as the eye could see in the packed stadium.

“It is a very beautiful sight to see everyone gathered like this. Of course, we were very sad at the death of Sayyed Nasrallah. Israel thought it would kill us, but they do not know that our martyrs make us stronger,” Mouna Ghrabi, 40, told The National. “Today's commemoration is the greatest proof of our victory,” she added. Her house, near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, was damaged during the war. “We all pay a price, and we are ready to pay this price for victory,” she added.

Later, the coffins of Mr Nasrallah and Mr Safieddine were paraded around the stadium before an emotional crowd that pressed forward to catch a glimpse of the revered leader, while tossing clothes at the coffin, in the belief that it would bless them.

The sound of four Israeli jets flying at very low altitude suddenly interrupted the procession – a message, according to the Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, that “whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel, that will be the end of him” – and also a reminder that the Israeli army has carte blanche when it comes to accessing Lebanese airspace.

Undeterred, and indeed galvanised, the crowd continued chanting “death to Israel” towards the sky. The ceremony was followed by a funeral procession that ended at a dedicated burial site.

A charismatic leader, Mr Nasrallah was revered in Lebanon and abroad by his supporters, who lauded him for defying Israel and the US. He also faced fierce opposition in other areas of Lebanese society.

Sokaina Hashem, 32, came from Tyre, in south Lebanon, to pay tribute to Mr Nasrallah. A ribbon wrapped around her head read “we are vengeful” in both Arabic and Hebrew, “so even the Israelis know the meaning”, she said. “They tried to erase us, but no, we cannot be forgotten.”

Thousands poured into the capital from Iran, Iraq, and Yemen in the days before the ceremony. Mourners waved Lebanese, Iranian, Iraqi and Russian flags, along with the Syrian flag from the era of Bashar Al Assad's toppled regime.

A woman held a sign showing a cross next to Mr Nasrallah. “I am Christian, and he was the best in the world,” she shouted from the podium. Another woman was seen waving an Irish flag. "I came to show solidarity with the Lebanese people," she said. Arab and Lebanese political and diplomatic figures attended the funeral.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament president Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in Beirut on Sunday morning to attend the funeral. “Today's funeral will show that the resistance and Hezbollah are alive and loyal to their cause,” Mr Araghchi said on arrival in the Lebanese capital. Yemen's Houthis sent a senior delegation led by the Grand Mufti, the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV said.

Mourners gather at Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut. Reuters

Signalling victory

Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech broadcast at the funeral that he would follow the path of Mr Nasrallah. “We will uphold you will and continue this path even if we are all killed and our homes are destroyed. You are still with us, your … path and struggle live within us.” He also said he was “loyal to the legacy of Nasrallah”.

He said the pressure on the resistance and its fighters was unprecedented, but that their steadfastness in response was also unprecedented. “The resistance exists and is strong in number, equipment and people,” he said. “Now we are in a new phase, and this phase has different tools and methods to deal with it.”

The historic ceremony, believed to be the biggest gathering in Lebanon in two decades, was an occasion to prove that the group is still powerful and is able to gather together thousands of people. “It’s not simply a tribute to a historic figure – it’s a show for Hezbollah to prove that they still exist. They want to showcase a victory, they are telling their popular base, ‘We have triumphed,’” political analyst Joseph Daher told The National.

Yet on the ground Hezbollah has been considerably weakened. It sustained heavy losses in the recent war with Israel, with its leadership decimated and thousands of fighters killed. The fall of Bashar Al Assad in Syria, a Hezbollah ally and a member of the Iran-led “axis of resistance”, has further weakened the group by cutting off its supply route to Iran.

“Israel still occupies southern Lebanon and has near-complete freedom to bomb whenever they want,” Mr Daher added. Israel has refused to pull out from five strategic points in south Lebanon after the expiration of a withdrawal deadline, scheduled as part of a US-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel that ended the recent war. Israel also signed a secret side deal with the US, allowing it to strike Lebanon in the event of any perceived threats from Hezbollah.

The election as president of Washington's favoured candidate, former army chief Joseph Aoun as president, and the formation of a new government led by Nawaf Salam, is seen as a break from past governments, which were dominated by Hezbollah. Lebanon's President and Prime Minister did not directly take part in the funeral, but both sent representatives.

“There is a context of enormous pressure – both external and internal – and a weakening of Hezbollah's military and political capacities, with financial resources from Iran under strain, “Mr Daher said. Just before the funeral, Israel struck what it said were several Hezbollah targets in the south of Lebanon.