Israeli planes fly low over crowds attending funeral of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah

The funeral of former Hezbollah Sec.-Gen. Hassan Nasrallah took place today in Beirut, Lebanon, along with that of his successor, Hashem Safieddine, who led the terror group for one week after Nasrallah was eliminated in an Israeli strike last September. 

According to Lebanese newspaper Al-Diyar, the stadium in Beirut where Nasrallah's funeral was held accommodates more than 80,000 people. Throughout the morning, thousands of people made their way to the stadium ahead of the service honoring the two Hezbollah leaders, both of whom were killed in separate Israeli Air Force (IAF) airstrikes in September. 

Moments before the ceremony was set to begin, reports of IAF airstrikes in several locations around Lebanon were released in Lebanese media. 

Shortly afterward, Israel Defense Forces announced it had struck several Hezbollah sites in the country. 

“A short while ago, the IDF struck military sites containing rocket launchers and weapons where Hezbollah activity was identified in the area of Baalbek and several additional areas in southern Lebanon,” the IDF statement read.

“These activities of the Hezbollah terrorist organization are in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and constitute a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel.” 

During the funeral ceremony, IAF fighter jets flew low over Beirut, crossing over the stadium. 

The funeral began at 1 p.m. at the Kamil Chamoun Sports Complex in Dahiya in Beirut, with crowds chanting, “Death to Israel, death to America, at your command, Nasrallah.” 

After dozens of videos were uploaded to social media, showing the IAF jets flying low over the city, Defense Minister Israel Katz affirmed the activity.

“Israeli Air Force aircraft currently flying over Beirut, over the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, convey a clear message: Those who threaten to destroy Israel and attack Israel, it will be their end.” 

As the sound of the fighter jets grew louder over the stadium, the crowd could be heard shouting, “Death to Israel!” 

קול המטוסים שחגים מעל ביירות ואחריו קריאות "מוות לישראל" בהלווית נסראללה pic.twitter.com/XDUwoUKhvh

— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) February 23, 2025

The IDF also posted on 𝕏: “Today is Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral. Today the world is a better place.” 

The Israeli military later released photos of the flyover, taken by pilots in the fighter jets. 

Israel flew F-35s and other jets over Beirut during Hassan Nasrallah's funeral. They published pictures of the flyover, too. pic.twitter.com/E0sUcUQcVC

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 23, 2025

Hezbollah aimed to turn the funeral into a demonstration of strength and popular support, despite suffering significant setbacks as Israel has dismantled much of its infrastructure and eliminated many of its top military and organizational leaders

The fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which enabled Iranian support for the terror group to flow freely through his country, also weakened the group, making its attempts to rebuild and rearm itself much harder. 

A delegation of senior Iranian officials also attended the funeral, marking their first high-level visit since Nasrallah’s death. 

Current Hezbollah Sec.-Gen. Naim Qassem spoke at the event via remote video, apparently unwilling to attend in person due to the risk of an Israeli attempt to eliminate him.

During his remarks, Qassem said that Hezbollah has no interest in continuing the fighting “without a political horizon,” an apparent reference to the changing political situation in Lebanon. However, he denied that the terror group is giving up on armed struggle

“Even if our houses are demolished and collapse above us, we will not give up the path of resistance,” he said.

Qassem also stated, “I am loyal to the legacy, Nasrallah.” 

Some of the IAF strikes took place during Qassem’s video message to funeral attendees.