BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah is preparing for a massive turnout for the funeral on Sunday of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, an opportunity for a show of strength by the group after a bruising war with Israel.
Nasrallah’s death nearly five months ago in a huge Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs left Hezbollah supporters in disbelief and sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the region.
The country will stop for Sunday’s funeral, to be held at 1pm (1100GMT) at the Camille Chamoun sports stadium on the capital’s outskirts.
Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds that are expected to number in the tens of thousands, with people pouring in from Hezbollah strongholds across the country, as well as from abroad.
Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day”.
“There will be huge participation. Israel will see that we are not afraid,” he said.
Hezbollah has invited senior Lebanese officials including the president.
Its key foreign backer Iran has said it will participate “at a high level”, without specifying who will attend.
Beirut-based Hezbollah expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Nicholas Blanford said it was important for Hezbollah “to be able to demonstrate that they haven’t been cowed – that they are still a popular force” within the community.
The funeral “is going to be exactly the event for that”, he told AFP.
The ceremony is expected to last around an hour, including a speech by current leader Naim Qassem, who has called for a huge turnout. A procession will follow to Nasrallah’s burial site near the airport road, now lined with yellow Hezbollah flags and images of him and other slain Hezbollah figures.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport will close exceptionally and flights will be suspended from midday until 4pm.
Hezbollah was battered by more than a year of hostilities with Israel that culminated in two months of full-blown war before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
