BEIRUT — Almost five months after his assassination in an Israeli airstrike, a large number of followers of Hassan Nasrallah, the long-standing leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, are arriving in Beirut for his funeral scheduled for Sunday.
Nasrallah was killed on September 27 when Israel launched a barrage of over 80 bombs targeting Hezbollah’s key operations center in southern Beirut. This attack marked the most significant and impactful of Israel’s recent targeted killings.
The passing of Nasrallah, one of the co-founders of the Iran-backed Shiite organization and its leader for more than three decades, represents a significant setback for the group he had molded into a formidable force in the region.
Hezbollah has endured substantial losses during its recent conflict with Israel, including the deaths of numerous high-ranking military and political figures.
His cousin and successor, Hashem Safieddine, who also fell victim to an Israeli airstrike just days later, will be buried in his southern Lebanese hometown. Both leaders were initially interred in undisclosed locations, but Hezbollah recently announced arrangements for their public funerals.
A sizeable crowd is anticipated to assemble at Beirut’s principal sports stadium for the ceremony preceding Nasrallah’s burial.
Flights from Iraq, where Hezbollah commands a significant following among Iraqi Shiites, have been fully booked for many days. An official from the Iraqi transportation ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that nearly 6,000 individuals traveled to Beirut over the past several days.
Among the attendees arriving from abroad is American commentator Jackson Hinkle, known for disseminating misinformation on social media platforms, particularly in favor of Russia regarding its conflict with Ukraine.
“I am honored to be attending the funeral,” Hinkle shared on the social media site X shortly after reaching Beirut this week. He also posted an image of himself in a war-torn village in southern Lebanon, brandishing a Hezbollah flag.
Nasrallah, revered by his supporters and possessing a strong following among Shiite communities and in the Islamic world, held the title of sayyid, which is an honorific signifying a lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities have denied a passenger flight from Iran permission to land, leaving many who intended to participate in the funeral stranded in Tehran and causing protests among Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon.
This flight ban followed accusations from the Israeli military alleging that Iran was using civilian flights to funnel money to Hezbollah, prompting claims among some Lebanese that their government had yielded to Israeli pressure.
Individuals who initially planned to fly from Iran are now routing their travel through Iraq. Members of other Iran-aligned groups in the region are also making their way to Beirut to attend the funeral for Nasrallah.
Kazim al-Fartousi, spokesperson for the Iran-affiliated Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada group in Iraq, arrived in Beirut on Friday, expressing that Nasrallah was “the father, commander, and the book that we read every day to learn about freedom.”
U.S. Republican Representative Joe Wilson criticized Lebanese politicians intending to attend the funeral, stating, “Any Lebanese politician who attends the funeral of the murderous terrorist Hasan Nasrallah is standing with the Iranian Regime,” he wrote on X.
