Tens of thousands gathered in Beirut on Sunday for the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime Hezbollah leader killed in an Israeli airstrike five months ago, in a meticulously planned display of mourning and defiance by the Iran-backed militant group. The ceremony, unfolding this afternoon at the Camille Chamoun Sports Stadium on the city’s southern edge, marks a pivotal moment for Hezbollah as it seeks to rally supporters after a punishing war with Israel.

Nasrallah, 64, who led Hezbollah for over three decades until his death on September 27, 2024, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, was buried temporarily due to ongoing hostilities. Today’s procession, announced by current leader Naim Qassem on February 2, also honors Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s short-lived successor, killed by Israel on October 3. Nasrallah will be interred near the stadium; Safieddine, in his southern hometown of Deir Qanoun on Monday. Beirut’s airport halted flights from noon to 4:00 PM local time to accommodate the event, which drew dignitaries like Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iraq’s Shiite militia leaders.

The funeral, expected to draw over 100,000 from Lebanon and beyond, doubles as a show of strength. Hezbollah’s military might was battered last year—thousands of fighters killed, its leadership decimated—yet Qassem vowed in a January 27 address that the group endures. Giant posters of Nasrallah flanked the stadium, with mourners waving yellow Hezbollah flags and chanting against Israel, which still holds pockets of southern Lebanon despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire extended to February 18.

For Hezbollah’s Shiite base, Nasrallah was a towering figure who turned a local militia into a regional power. To foes, he led a terrorist entity tied to Iran’s ambitions. His death, and Safieddine’s, exposed vulnerabilities, yet Sunday’s turnout aims to counter that narrative. “This is not farewell, but renewal,” said Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Haj Hassan on Saturday.

As Lebanon grapples with war’s toll—over 3,000 dead, per its Health Ministry—the funeral tests Hezbollah’s grip. Regional allies see it as a rallying cry; critics, a hollow flex. For now, Beirut stands still, its streets a testament to Nasrallah’s enduring shadow.