Slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been temporarily buried in a secret location, a source close to the group said on Friday, out of fear Israel would target a large funeral for him.
“Hassan Nasrallah has been temporarily buried, until the circumstances allow for a public funeral,” the source said, after an Israeli strike killed the leader last week.
The source said a public funeral had been impossible to hold “for fear of Israeli threats they would target mourners and the place of his burial”.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
A Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Hezbollah had, through top Lebanese officials, sought but failed to obtain “guarantees” from the United States, a key ally of Israel, that Israel would not target a public funeral.
Amid intensifying Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah, a massive strike on its south Beirut stronghold on September 27 killed Nasrallah alongside an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general.
Israel said it killed around 20 members of the Iran-backed militant group.
Nasrallah still does not have a successor a week after he was killed.
His cousin Hashem Safieddine, a prominent Hezbollah figure touted as a possible successor, was the target of a recent Israeli air strike on south Beirut, US and Israeli media reported. His fate is still not known.
ALSO READ:
- Israel-Hezbollah conflict: No let-up to bombardments on Beirut after deadly West Bank strike
- Israel says struck Hezbollah intelligence headquarters in Beirut
- Lebanese factions revive bid to fill presidency as Israel attacks
