A leader in the Lebanese Hezbollah revealed dramatic details of the moment Hassan Nasrallah’s body, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, was recovered following his assassination in an Israeli airstrike targeting the southern suburb of Beirut last month.
Mahmoud Qamati, a member of Hezbollah’s Political Council, in statements to the official Iraqi channel, said, “Nasrallah was in a passage inside an underground tunnel where the meeting was being held,” adding that “the gases that rose after the Israeli air strike caused him to suffocate.”
Qamati continued, “Civil Defense personnel tried to enter the tunnel several times, but retreated due to the danger of these gases. After a short while, one of them insisted on entering, followed by others.”
He mentioned, “The first rescuer to enter the tunnel, out of deep affection for the Secretary-General, removed his breathing mask upon reaching the body to place it on Nasrallah’s face, hoping to save him, but he quickly died beside him.”
Addressing some of the party’s supporters who doubted Nasrallah’s assassination and refused to believe it, Qamati said, “With all due respect to people’s love and emotions, we must wake up from this beautiful dream,” as he put it.
He affirmed, “We saw his body, and touched it, and despite all the pain, we must emerge from the rumors to face reality and fulfill our jihad duties, to join the esteemed Secretary-General.”
Regarding Nasrallah’s funeral, Qamati stated, “We are waiting for the right moment to conduct the leader’s funeral, as the southern suburb is undergoing destruction, and the funeral cannot be held outside the suburb. However, it will take some time to ensure the funeral is fitting for the leader, his person, and his role.”
It is noted that on September 27th last year, Israeli warplanes carried out violent raids on a residential complex in the Haret Hreik area of the southern suburb.
Israeli army radio mentioned that “aircraft from Squadron 69 dropped about 85 bunker-busting bombs, each weighing a ton, to assassinate Nasrallah.”
The southern Lebanese border is witnessing a dangerous escalation in military tensions between the Israeli occupation and Hezbollah, with the Israeli forces and the party exchanging shelling and gunfire almost daily since the onset of the war on Gaza.
These confrontations are part of a broader struggle in which Hezbollah aims to support the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, while the Israeli occupation attempts to undermine its military capabilities. The Israeli air strikes targeted Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, resulting in material and human losses on both sides.