WATCH: Mourners chant as Nasrallah's coffin passes by at his long-delayed funeral

Today, tens of thousands of mourners gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to attend the long-delayed funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, nearly five months after his death in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, 2024. The ceremony, which began at 1:00 PM local time (11:00 GMT) at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, also honors Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s cousin and briefly his successor, who was killed in another Israeli strike on October 4, 2024.

The event is underway, with Hezbollah aiming to project resilience despite its weakened state after last year’s war with Israel.

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for over 32 years and was an important figure in the Iran-backed Shiite militia, was assassinated when Israel dropped more than 80 bombs on the group’s underground operations room in Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood. Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s executive council and a presumed heir, took the reins for just a week before meeting a similar fate in an airstrike. The double blow underscored Israel’s deep intelligence penetration into the group, decapitating its leadership in quick succession. Today’s funeral, postponed due to security concerns, marks their official burial—Nasrallah in Beirut and Safieddine in his southern Lebanese hometown.

The stadium, packed since early morning, buzzed with mourners dressed in black, many waving Hezbollah’s yellow flags or clutching portraits of the slain leaders. Giant banners of Nasrallah and Safieddine adorned walls and bridges across south Beirut, with one calling Nasrallah “the treasure of the Shiites.” Current Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, who succeeded Safieddine and spoke at the ceremony, urged supporters to attend en masse as a “show of strength.” He also confirmed Safieddine had been elected secretary-general before his death, granting him the title posthumously. Qassem’s speech, ongoing as of this report, is expected to rally the group’s base amid its struggles.

High-profile attendance underscores the event’s regional weight. Iran, a key Hezbollah backer, sent a senior delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, signaling Tehran’s commitment to its ally. Reports also indicate a Houthi delegation from Yemen is present, prompting Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani to call for their arrest, alleging the funeral doubles as a meeting of Iran’s “axis of resistance.” Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah and other Shiite factions are represented too, turning the ceremony into a symbolic flex of Iran’s network.

Security is tight, with Hezbollah enforcing a no-firearms policy—Qassem explicitly asked supporters “not to fire into the air.” Yet, tensions linger. Just hours before the funeral, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what Defense Minister Israel Katz called “nests of terror.” The strikes, reported by The Guardian, coincide with the funeral’s start, raising fears of escalation. Since Nasrallah’s death, the Dahieh strike site has become a pilgrimage spot, though it remains a rubble-strewn disaster zone.

The funeral’s timing reflects Hezbollah’s battered posture. After a year of war that killed over 3,000 in Lebanon and displaced a million, the group’s military and political clout has waned. Internal criticism and a loss of influence in Lebanon have piled pressure on Qassem, who’s led since October 2024. Some on X note sparse crowds in stadium shots aired by Hezbollah’s Al-Aqsa TV, suggesting a dip in the group’s ability to mobilize like in its heyday. Others see the mass turnout—estimated in the tens of thousands—as proof of enduring loyalty.

For many Lebanese Shiites, Nasrallah was a liberator, his three-decade reign marked by resistance against Israel and influence across Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Safieddine, a cleric like his cousin, was seen as a continuity figure until his swift elimination. Today’s procession, set to move Nasrallah’s coffin to a burial site on Beirut’s outskirts after Qassem’s address, blends mourning with political theater. Whether it reignites Hezbollah’s momentum or merely buries its past glory remains to be seen. As the event unfolds, the Middle East watches a group at a crossroads.