As word of Hassan Nasrallah’s death filtered out on the streets of Beirut, supporters who had been forced to flee Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Lebanese capital refused to believe the news.
“They are lying,” said one woman on the back of a motorbike. “Sayyed is well,” she said, referring to the Hezbollah leader, who enjoyed cult status among supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hezbollah’s confirmation of his death on Saturday led to an outpouring of grief on the streets of Beirut, where many of those displaced by Israel’s bombing of the southern suburbs have been camping out.
Women wept and beat their chests, crying out: “Allahu Akbar”, while people gathered in groups, glued to their mobile phones.
“I can’t describe my shock at this announcement… we all started crying,” said Maha Karit, one of the few people who agreed to be identified by name.
“He was (like) a father, the one who made us proud. There is no state in the world that has stood up to Israel, only Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” she said.
Karit lashed out angrily not just at the West but also at Arab governments “that say they are Muslims” for their failure to defend the rights of Palestinians.
“With Sayyed Hassan, we were the only ones that carried the Palestinian cause on our shoulders.”
Hezbollah gained its “resistance” moniker by fighting Israeli troops who occupied southern Lebanon until 2000.
Last year, it began exchanging fire with Israeli troops along the border in support of Palestinian ally Hamas.
The cross-border violence displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides and on Monday, Israel sharply escalated its attacks on Hezbollah targets vowing to return displaced families to their homes.
In Beirut’s Hamra shopping district, there were more scenes of grief and anger, particularly near shelters set up to host those displaced by Israeli bombing of Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and southern and eastern Lebanon.
Others went about their business, but the atmosphere was tense, with fresh Israeli strikes hitting the southern suburbs not far away.
On the balcony of a hotel hosting displaced people, a woman cried out and threw her arms up in grief. Men on the balcony began shouting and pelting water bottles at journalists below when they noticed cameras.
In regions of Lebanon where Hezbollah is popular, the sound of gunfire rang out after the news of Nasrallah’s death.
With AFP
