Military Space News
WAR REPORT
Hezbollah says Nasrallah funeral to be held on February 23
Hezbollah says Nasrallah funeral to be held on February 23
by AFP Staff Writers
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Feb 2, 2025

The funeral for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will be held on February 23, the group's current chief said on Sunday, months after his predecessor's death in an Israeli air strike.

Nasrallah was killed in a huge Israeli air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, as Israel scaled up its campaign against the Iran-backed group following almost a year of cross-border hostilities.

After decades at the helm of the group once seen as invincible, the killing of the charismatic leader sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the wider region.

"After security conditions prevented holding a funeral" during two months of all-out war that ended on November 27, Hezbollah has decided to hold "on February 23 a grand... public funeral" for Nasrallah, Naim Qassem said in a televised speech.

"We hope that it will be a grand funeral procession befitting this great personality," he said.

Qassem also confirmed for the first time that leading official Hashem Safieddine had been chosen to succeed Nasrallah before he too was killed in an Israeli raid in October.

Safieddine will be buried "as Secretary-General" or leader of Hezbollah, because "we had... elected His Eminence Sayyed Hashem as Secretary-General... but he was martyred on October 3, a day or two before the announcement", Qassem said.

The group will hold Safieddine's funeral on the same day as Nasrallah's.

Nasrallah will be buried on the outskirts of Beirut "in a plot of land we chose between the old and new airport roads", while Safieddine will be buried in his hometown of Deir Qanun in southern Lebanon, he said.

Nasrallah had been temporarily buried elsewhere due to security concerns, he said.

Shiite Muslim rites provide for such a temporary burial when circumstances prevent a proper funeral or the deceased cannot be buried where they wished.

Last October, a source close to the group had told AFP that Nasrallah had been buried in a secret location, for fear Israel would target a large funeral.

- 'Israeli aggression' -

The deeply religious Safieddine, a cleric with family ties to Nasrallah, had been widely viewed as the most likely candidate for the party's top job.

Safieddine, a member of the group's governing Shura Council, had strong ties to Iran after undergoing religious studies in the Islamic republic's holy city of Qom.

During his speech Sunday, Qassem also pressed Lebanese authorities to pressure Israel to stop ceasefire violations.

The Israeli army missed a January 26 deadline to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon and has since launched strikes there. It now has until February 18 to withdraw.

Israel had made clear it had no intention of meeting the initial deadline, charging that the Lebanese army had not fulfilled its end of the bargain.

The Lebanese authorities have also accused Israel of violating the agreement.

"The Lebanese state is fully responsible for following up, pressuring and trying to prevent as much as it can, through sponsors and international pressure, this violation and this Israeli aggression," Qassem said.

Under the terms of the November 27 ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy in the south as Hezbollah pulls its forces back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

The militant group is also required to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the south.

Related Links
Space War News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WAR REPORT
Blast near Ukraine army recruitment centre wounds one
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Feb 2, 2025
An explosion near a recruitment centre for the Ukrainian military on Sunday wounded one person, police said, as Kyiv struggles to draft more recruits to fight off Russia's invasion. Taking place outside an army office in the central town of Pavlograd, Sunday's blast was the latest in a series of similar incidents, just a day after a separate blast killed one person. Without giving a possible cause, the Dnipropetrovsk regional police said an investigation was ongoing into the blast which happened ... read more

WAR REPORT
Russia slams Trump plan for 'Star Wars' missile shield

Teledyne Brown Engineering Completes Successful Launch of Black Dagger Zombie Target Missile

Iron Dome for America: Trump's missile defense effort

Trump orders planning for 'Iron Dome' missile shield for US

WAR REPORT
Pregnant teenager among five Ukrainians killed by Russian missile

Russian missile attack hits Odesa, wounding seven

Russian missile kills four, wounds 20 in east Ukraine: governor

Iran unveils new ballistic missile in show of force

WAR REPORT
Fatal Ukrainian drone barrage on Russia hits oil refinery

Firestorm Labs awarded $100M contract by US Air Force to boost UAS development

'Unprecedented' level of control allows person without use of limbs to operate virtual quadcopter

US Navy expands contract with Packet Digital to advance UAS battery systems

WAR REPORT
Mobix Labs Secures Defense Funding to Advance SATCOM SoC Innovation

ESA and Hisdesat prepare to launch advanced secure communications satellite

SpaceX set to launch Hisdesat's SpainSat NG I satellite on January 28

Controversy in Italy over potential deal with Musk's SpaceX

WAR REPORT
US pledges $117 mn in aid to Lebanon military

Spain pledges 10 million euros for Lebanon army

Swiss to mull conscripting women

US. unveils $500M in military aid at final Ukraine defense summit before Trump takes office

WAR REPORT
EU countries urge investment bank to up defence funding

Russia former deputy defence minister faces embezzlement trial

Ukraine sacks deputy minister amid arms procurement infighting

Portugal says to meet NATO defence spend minimum earlier

WAR REPORT
Japan, US ministers express 'firm intent' to reinforce defence alliance

Trump trade threats overshadow European defence meet

Eyeing Trump and Putin, EU, UK, NATO leaders talk defence

Starmer to urge Europe to 'bear down' on Putin at landmark talks

WAR REPORT
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.