BEIRUT (AP) – The Lebanese Hezbollah group announced the funeral of its longtime leader will take place on February 23, months after he was assassinated in a series of Israeli airstrikes in a southern Beirut suburb.
Secretary-General Naim Kassem made the announcement regarding his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in a prerecorded speech.
It came days after a United States (US)-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the war between the Lebanese group and Israel was extended until February 18.
Nasrallah was killed on September 27 after a series of Israeli airstrikes struck several buildings in a southern Beirut suburb.
A top security aide said Nasrallah was inside the militant group’s war operations room when the strikes took place.
Israeli troops are still present in parts of southern Lebanon, where under the ceasefire agreement they are supposed to gradually withdraw while Hezbollah’s soldiers withdraw north of the Litani River as Lebanese army soldiers disperse.
Residents of those villages, many waving Hezbollah flags, have been protesting in those villages and have scuffled with Israeli troops, which Kassem praised.
