When the world held its breath - the funeral of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine passed to their final resting place but the Resistance remains

There are some events that mark us for life. The assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was an event that cast a dark pall over the entire region as soon as it was announced. I was in Syria at the time and it was a palpable gut-punch for the Syrians who had fought for their liberation from Zionist, US, UK, Turkish, Gulf State proxy terrorist groups for more than a decade. Hezbollah had been instrumental in that war of liberation. Sayyed Nasrallah had been a voice that all regional Resistance members had looked to for guidance, strength and the wisdom that would bring victory against oppression.

The loss of this icon of victory over tyranny created a wound that does not heal and it left a void that cannot be filled, at least not for a considerable length of time. For many who attended the funeral, it was the crushing of the last hope that Sayyed would miraculously reappear and mock his Zionist assassins.

In the morning I walked with some friends for more than an hour to the outskirts of the stadium where the funeral ceremony would take place. As we moved closer to the venue, cars carrying the yellow Hezbollah flags were stopping and offering a lift. Even at 7am the crowds were immense. The stadium had been 50% filled within 10 minutes of the doors opening at 6am. Mourners from all over the world had flown in and slept in freezing temperatures outside the doors all night to ensure their place inside.

We clambered up onto the concrete walls outside the stadium and watched as the car parks and surrounding roads began to fill with the yellow flags and crush of people coming to pay their last respects to their universal father, guide, leader and confidant.

I was not the only person from the West at the event and those I have spoken to since have all remarked on the incredible groundswell of grief and collective sorrow - something you will never see in the West because we do not have any leader who represents the will of the people or epitomises the Humanity we all respond to when we are finally confronted by it, not in the halls of Parliament or Congress but in a region long dehumanized and discarded by those who rule us and take us to endless wars against these generous, kind and courageous people.

From out vantage point I watched one lady with two children, a daughter and son, as the ceremony progressed, her tears fell freely as she held the photo, presumably of the children’s father, a martyr in the latest Zionist war against Lebanon. Her daughter buried her head in her mother’s lap, her son, a little older, held back his tears to comfort his mother. Everywhere around us the grief, the loss and the anger was on full display.

Journalist Marwa Osman posted this on her Telegram channel one day after the ceremony:

I don’t know who made this video, but I swear, you made me break down in tears all over again—just as if Sayyed’s coffin was passing before us right now. Especially because of a deeply personal reason tied to the very first moment I learned of the martyrdom of this great leader.

Thank you to the one who filmed it, to the one who edited it, and a heartfelt thanks to Dr. Ahmed Yassine for sending it.

I will keep it, just as I keep the memory of Sayyed… until my last breath.

It has been admitted that senior officials in the Trump Zionist administration were keen for the Zionists to bomb the funeral where more than 1.4 million people had gathered to pay their last respects, from all over the world. Yemeni resistance leaders were among the potential targets designated by the Washington hawks.

There were rumours from various Yemeni and Iranian social media accounts that Israel decided against such action when they received messages from intermediaries that Yemen and Iran had missiles trained on the occupied territories which would be launched should Israel commit such a crime.

Despite the Emirates and Air France cancellation of flights to Lebanon on 23rd February and flights from Istanbul being subject to unusual long delays - the turn out was indicative of the support for the Resistance against the Israeli genocide in Palestine, the land grab and devastation in southern Lebanon and the annexation of Syrian territory since the international coup toppled the Syrian government in December 2024.

Israel did fly over the ceremony at low altitude twice. The roar of the jet engines was immediately drowned by the roar of the crowd. 1.4 million voices raised against the Zionist supremacists. No fear, even from the children whose fists were raised in defiance.

In many ways this demonstrated the impotence of force against an ideology that does not die with each martyr but lives on in every fibre of every being that has dedicated themselves to an end of occupation, apartheid and the disenfranchisement of their people in the region. The following video from Hoopoe media gives an idea of the scale of the ceremony:

When the Zionist jets passed low over the ceremony there was one man who flung himself on the coffin of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to protect him in death as he did for three decades in life. Abu Ali as described by Enemy Watch:

Abu Ali Jawad "Husayn Khalil" (H) is the son-in-law of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (r) and his chief security officer. He was also known as “Sayyid’s Shield” due to his exceptional dedication to protecting the Secretary General of Hezbollah.

Not only is he the son-in-law of the Secretary General of Hezbollah (r), but he is also responsible for the first line of security protection for Sayyid Hassan (r). He holds a position of complete trust within Hezbollah’s leadership and is one of the 19 elite commanders tasked with ensuring Sayyid Hassan’s (r) safety. Despite his young age, he is at the top due to his extraordinary loyalty and ability to execute highly sensitive missions.

Abu Ali (H) is one of Hezbollah’s most important special commanders and one of the closest figures to the leader of the resistance. He has faced multiple assassination attempts and plays a critical role in Hezbollah’s security operations. His relentless commitment to protecting Sayyid Hassan (r) has earned him the title of “The Shield of the Leader” or “The Leader’s Armor” within Hezbollah.

For years, he has played a key role in ensuring Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah’s (r) safety through meticulously designed security plans. Despite persistent Zionist efforts to assassinate him, Abu Ali (H) has successfully kept Sayyid Hassan (r) out of harm’s way.

The Zionist regime had previously claimed that Abu Ali (H) was martyred in an assassination attempt on Sayyid Hassan (r), but in reality, he survived and continued his mission. However, on one of the rare occasions when he was separated from his constant companion, he was left behind in the convoy of martyrs, a loss that was deeply felt by Sayyid Hassan’s (r) closest aide.

For the last 15 years, Abu Ali (H) has been considered the most important security figure in Hezbollah, tasked with protecting Sayyid Hassan (r). This makes him a prime target for the Zionist regime.

Abu Ali (H) is known for his meticulous planning and seriousness in missions. In Lebanon, it is said: “No one has ever seen Abu Ali (H) smile.”

His close relationship with Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (r) is evident, as Sayyid Hassan (r) spends most of his time with him, both day and night. Abu Ali’s (H) security advice is always taken seriously, and he has completed advanced security training, making him one of Hezbollah’s most skilled operatives.

In Lebanon, rumors spread about the martyrdom of “Abu Ali Khalil (H)” in the “Pager” bombings. This news was neither confirmed nor denied by Hezbollah’s official sources at the time. However, his sudden appearance at Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah’s (r) funeral refuted this news.

In a defining moment, Abu Ali (H) was with Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (r) when he attained martyrdom. He himself was badly injured but did not try to leave the battlefield. Later, he recovered from his injuries, but he remains deeply affected by the loss of his leader.

To this day, Abu Ali (H) carries the sorrow of being the last survivor from the martyrdom convoy of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (r). May Allah protect him.

One of the most poignant elements of the ceremony was the moment the Zionist pager-attack victims came to pay their respects and to grieve the loss of their leader who had stood with them through every hardship they had faced in the long war against the threat to their very existence. The majority lost their sight, their faces scarred and burned, their hands missing fingers or completely amputated - their own disability forgotten in their grief. Their dignity intact despite the ravages of an entity that has no regard for Humanity.

As the vehicles transporting the coffins of Sayyed Nasrallah and Safieddine moved to the final burial site for Sayyed Nasrallah, the crowds moved with them. The hours it took to arrive at the final resting place testament to the people not wanting to let them go. People weeping and clinging to the last physical imprint of a leader who has never deserted them and has always been their safe place in the harshest of times. The chants of allegiance echoed throughout Beirut during the ceremony and affirmed the continuance of Resistance.

"Labbayka Ya Nasrallah" (At your service, Nasrallah), "We remain committed to the pledge, Nasrallah," and "Far from us is humiliation."

As journalist Myriam Charabaty stated in her latest article covering the funeral:

No words of consolation will ever suffice—our only solace is in continuing the struggle, in standing firm upon this path, until the day the sun of liberation rises over our lands.

The following eulogy from Marwa Osman expresses perfectly the chasm of grief left behind by the final departure of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah from this earth. Sayyed’s legacy is one of a journey that does not end until liberation is achieved and dignity restored and it is a legacy that will not die with the frail human body because those that follow the coffin are the ones who will take up the torch of Resistance and ensure that it is never extinguished:

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