‘Sending Clear Message’: Israel Flies Jets Above Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah’s Funeral Gathering | Watch

Last Updated:February 23, 2025, 19:54 IST

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that the jets flying above Nasrallah’s funeral procession in Beirut were to send a warning that attacking Israel would invite retaliation.

Israeli planes were flying at low altitude over Beirut while tens of thousands attended Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's funeral near Beirut. (IMAGE: AFP)

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli Air Force jets flying over the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sunday were sending a “clear message" to anyone threatening Israel.

“Israeli Air Force planes currently flying over Beirut during the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah are sending a clear message: Anyone who threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel –- this will be their end," Katz said in a statement.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut in September.

Tens of thousands of black-clad mourners vowed support for Hezbollah at the Beirut funeral of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, after the group was dealt major blows in its last round of hostilities with Israel.

Women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine — Nasrallah’s chosen successor killed in another Israeli air strike — slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag.

The September killing of the charismatic leader, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, in a massive Israeli strike dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group.

But Hezbollah, which dominated Lebanon’s politics for decades, has long had a support base in the country’s majority Shiite Muslim community.

In a televised address to the ceremony, Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem said Hezbollah would keep following his “path" and rejected any control of “tyrant America" over Lebanon.

“The resistance is not over, the resistance is still present and ready" to face Israel, he said.

Nasrallah speeches were blasted as the mourners raised their fists in the air and chanted “We are at your service, Nasrallah" and “We are loyal to the promise, Nasrallah".

Men, women and children walked in the biting cold to reach the site of the ceremony, which was delayed for months over security concerns.

Beirut, Lebanon

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