Tens of thousands of people were packed in a stadium in Beirut to attend The funeral of the former Hezbollah chiefAlmost five months after being killed in an Israeli air attack on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.
Hassan NasrallahThe group leader for more than 30 years and one of its founders was killed in September from last year when the Air Force of Israel lost more than 80 bombs in the main operations room .
In mourning dressed in black, some waving flags from Hezbollah or wearing portraits of Nasrallah, faded towards mass funeral, delayed due to safety problems. Many men, women and children in Lebanon and beyond walked on the bit of a biting cold to reach the ceremony site.
Giant portraits of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine – the successor chosen by Nasrallah killed during another Israeli air raid before being able to assume the post – were plastered on walls and bridges through the south of Beirut. The two had been temporarily buried in secret places.
Ali Daamoush, head of Hezbollah, told journalists about 800 personalities from 65 countries would attend the funeral, in addition to thousands of people and activists from around the world.
Nasrallah will be put to rest later Sunday in Beirut, while Safieddine will be buried in his hometown in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has placed giant screens along the airport road and outside the stadium for people who do not get space inside to look at the funeral. Close safety measures include closing the main roads in the funeral area and hitchhiking flights to Beirut airport for four hours. The Lebanese army and the police are on alert, and the use of drones in Beirut and its suburbs during the day was prohibited.
A few hours before the funeral start, the Israeli army launched a series of attacks in southern Lebanon.
