Hezbollah will continue supporting the Palestinian people and will not let US President Donald Trump implement his project for the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said at the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
‘We will not let the United States boss us about in the Middle East in Israel’s interests, and pledge that, along with other national liberation forces, we will resist Trump’s project for resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip,’ he said.
Sheikh Qassem made the remarks in a speech honouring the late Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, and Executive Council chief Sayyid Hashim Safieddine at their joint funeral ceremony in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Sunday.
‘Sayyed Nasrallah’s contribution was great in reviving the Palestinian cause; we will preserve this trust and will continue to tread this path,’ he said.
‘We will continue Sayyed Nasrallah’s path, even if we are all killed and even if our homes are destroyed over our heads.’
Huge crowds of hundreds of thousands of people had headed to the Lebanese capital for the public funeral ceremony for the fallen resistance leaders.
Sheikh Qassem described Nasrallah as ‘a historic, exceptional, patriotic, Arab, Islamic leader, and the model of the free people of the world.
‘Sayyed Nasrallah loved the people and they loved him. He led both hearts and minds, with his objective always being Palestine and al-Quds.’ (Jerusalem).’
Sheikh Qassem also praised the large crowds attending the ceremony, saying: ‘You are a loyal and generous people and the mass mobilisation today is unmatched in Lebanese history.’
Referring to the issue of Lebanese prisoners being held by the Israeli occupying regime, he noted: ‘We won’t abandon you and we will exert all the necessary pressures to free you.’
He also emphasised that the battle to support Gaza ‘is part of our belief in liberating Palestine … We confronted the Zionist entity and its tyrant backers, the United States,’ which attacked the besieged enclave of Gaza, and he praised the resistance fighters’ resilience.
Regarding the ceasefire with Israel, Sheikh Qassem explained: ‘We agreed to the enemy’s request for a ceasefire because we had no interest in continuing the fight without any foreseen political or military future.’
‘Our point of strength is that we agreed to the enemy’s request for a ceasefire based on our principles,’ he added.
Tributes continue to pour in for the martyred Hezbollah leaders, revered for their indomitable struggle to liberate al-Quds (Jerusalem) from the settler-colonial Zionist regime.
Sheikh Qassem further reiterated the movement’s unwavering commitment to resistance and national sovereignty, declaring: ‘The Resistance is on the ground, and it enjoys paramount manpower and equipment.
‘The inevitable victory is coming,’ and Israel won’t be able to take through politics what it failed to achieve through war.
Sheikh Qassem further emphasised Hezbollah’s commitment to resistance and national development, saying: ‘We are committed to expelling the occupation and reconstruction. We are keen on safeguarding national unity and civil peace.
‘Lebanon is a nation for all of its people, and we are part of its people,’ he said. ‘We support the efforts of the Lebanese army, and we shall remain by its side.’
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the iconic leader of the Lebanese resistance, was assassinated in Israel’s strikes on southern Beirut on September 27, 2024, following the regime’s week-long bombing campaign that hit many areas from the country’s south to the capital.
Hezbollah Executive Council chief Sayyid Hashim Safieddine was also assassinated in an Israeli attack on October 3rd, 2024.
Hezbollah postponed funerals for both leaders due to fears of Israeli attacks on the ceremony.
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, in a statement ‘on the day of the great farewell’ renewed its ‘heartfelt condolences to the brotherly Lebanese people and our entire Arab and islamic nation.’
They said Israel’s ‘cowardly assassination’ of Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah five months ago has only strengthened the resistance’s determination to continue his path in Palestine, Lebanon, and beyond.’
It went on that the Israeli regime’s ‘cowardly assassinations of resistance leaders in Palestine, Lebanon, and everywhere will not halt our blessed path but will only strengthen our determination to continue on the path of our martyred leaders.’
Hamas recalled ‘the heroic and honourable positions of the martyr Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, his firm and principled adoption of the Palestinian cause, and his insistence on forming a support front with our people in the Gaza Strip.’
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes attacked a number of towns in Lebanon despite an ongoing ceasefire agreement and just hours before the mass funeral in the capital Beirut.
Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network reported that the Israeli airstrikes on Sunday morning targeted the outskirts of the towns of Qlaila and Ansar, and the area between Janata, Barish, and Maaroub in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli warplanes also attacked an area between the towns of Halousiya and Zrarieh as well as the Hermel outskirts in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
Media reports did not provide any details on casualties or damage.
The Israeli aggression coincided with the arrival of the deluge of participants for the funerals of Nasrallah and Safieddine in Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City, which began at 1.00pm local time.
It was, in terms of participation, exceptional with about 70 countries confirming their official presence through diplomatic delegations, current and former parliamentarians, ministers, and distinguished political figures.
Huge crowds of hundreds of thousands people headed to Beirut for the funeral, thousands of them from various Arab and Muslim countries, such as Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Turkey.
Speaking upon arrival at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Sunday, Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had travelled to the Lebanese capital as part of a high-ranking Iranian delegation to attend.
Qalibaf noted that during his visit, he would examine threats posed to Lebanon and Hezbollah, and emphasise the strengthening of bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and Lebanon.
‘Iran will undoubtedly support any consensus between the Lebanese government, parliament, resistance, and people,’ he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghae said the participation of the Iranian delegation at the funeral procession demonstrates Tehran’s position in solidarity with the anti-Israel resistance.
The presence of the high-ranking Iranian delegation at the funeral of Nasrallah and Safieddine shows Iran has kept supporting the legitimate resistance of Lebanon and Palestine against occupation and aggression, he pointed out.