Hezbollah buries family of six killed in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon
Hezbollah buried six members of the Al-Hajj Hassan family, killed in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon, as regional tensions escalate.
Dozens of mourners gathered at the Jannat al-Zahraa cemetery in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday for the funeral of six members of the Al-Hajj Hassan family, killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in southern Lebanon.
The deceased include the father, Ali Samir Al-Hajj Hassan, a Hezbollah member described by the Israeli military as a commander in the group's elite Radwan Force, along with his wife and four of their children. The coffins, draped in Hezbollah flags, were carried by members of the pro-Hezbollah Al-Mahdi Scouts as relatives and supporters wept and held posters of the family.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said the strike targeted a residence on the outskirts of Ansar village. The attack was part of a wave of Israeli airstrikes on Saturday that killed at least 11 people across southern Lebanon — the deadliest since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on June 20. A separate strike on the village of Deir al-Zahrani killed four and wounded 17.
At the funeral, Tarraf Hamad, a cousin of the killed mother, said, "God willing, this enemy will suffer the defeat that has been promised. For it is indeed weaker than a spider's web, and it will remain weaker than a spider's web, no matter how far it goes in its oppression, tyranny, and hatred."
Ghaleb Abou Zeinab, a member of Hezbollah's Political Council, said, "Any attack on Lebanon, the Lebanese people, or our people will change nothing. We will not allow Israel to alter the equation within Lebanon. The matter will be dealt with as it should be. Israel understands this; it understands that it cannot have the upper hand in the south, whatever happens."
The strikes come after Israel and the Lebanese government announced a "framework agreement" on June 26, outlining a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The agreement envisions steps toward a potential peace deal between the two countries, which remain technically at war. Hezbollah has refused direct talks and was not party to the deal.