Hezbollah Secretary-General sets February 23 as the date for holding a grand public funeral for Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine
Hezbollah has set February 23 as the date for the funeral of its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah after security conditions prevented the ceremony from being held following his assassination in an Israeli strike in late September amid the war between the two sides.
The Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, announced that the funeral ceremonies will also include a farewell to the prominent leader Hashem Safieddine, who was assassinated in a similar strike in early October, revealing that he had been elected Secretary-General before his death, succeeding Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27.
Naim Qassem said that Nasrallah “was martyred at a time when circumstances were difficult and we didn’t have the ability to even carry out the funeral duty… that befits this great figure”.
He added in a televised speech, “After security conditions prevented the funeral, we decided to bury His Eminence, the Master of the Martyrs of the Nation, was buried for all this time, we decided to choose February 23, Sunday, to hold a large, grand funeral… befitting this great personality”.
Nasrallah is a historical leader of the Iranian-backed party, having served as Secretary-General for 32 years, during which the party developed its military and armament capabilities tremendously, and built a comprehensive system that included educational, social and health institutions.
The announcement of his death in a massive blow in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah’s stronghold, was a shock to supporters, many of whom had known no one else as the Hezbollah’s leader.
Qassem explained that the ceremonies will witness the funeral of Safieddine in his capacity as Secretary-General, revealing for the first time that the latter, who assumed the presidency of the party’s Executive Council and was a member of its Shura Council, was elected as Nasrallah’s successor.
He pointed out that he “was martyred on October 3 before the announcement” of his appointment as Nasrallah’s successor, stressing that “he was martyred as Secretary-General and we decided to postpone this announcement… on the basis that this description would be present during the funeral”.
Hezbollah mourned Safieddine on October 23, the day after Israel confirmed that it had assassinated him and other leaders in an airstrike that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut three weeks earlier.
On the 29th, Hezbollah announced the appointment of Qasim, who had spent decades as deputy secretary-general.
Safieddine was the most prominent candidate to succeed Nasrallah, to whom he is related.
Qassem indicated that Nasrallah will be buried south of Beirut, on the outskirts of the southern suburb, which was subjected to devastating Israeli strikes during the war, while Safieddine will be buried in his hometown in southern Lebanon.
