Hezbollah Resumes Public Funerals for Fallen Fighters

Hezbollah held a public funeral in a southern Lebanese village on Friday to honor five of its fighters who were killed in the conflict with Israel. This marked the first public funeral organized by the militant group since the escalation of the war in late September.

During the ceremony in the village of Maarakeh, Zeinab al-Haj, holding a bag of roses, mourned her son, Ali Hijazi, who had died from injuries sustained in an airstrike the previous week. She placed the flowers on his coffin, visibly grieving.

The last public funeral held by Hezbollah took place on September 27, the same day that the group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in a southern Beirut suburb.

Salman Harb, Hezbollah’s media chief in southern Lebanon, stated that the group takes great pride in its martyrs, who, according to him, represent their ultimate victory.

Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, which took effect on Wednesday, Hezbollah resumed publicly announcing the deaths of its fighters. More funerals are expected in the coming days, including the burial of three additional fighters in Maarakeh on Saturday.

Before the war’s intensification on September 23, Hezbollah had already reported the deaths of nearly 500 of its fighters. Since the escalation, it is believed the group has lost many more, with their funerals being held once their bodies are recovered.

Additionally, Hezbollah is expected to organize a funeral for Nasrallah, as well as other senior figures in the group, including Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s successor, who was killed in an airstrike in early October.