Unprecedented Outpouring of Grief Around World

Date: 29 September 2024 - 23:02

News ID: ۱۳۱۸۷۳

TEHRAN -- Protests took place on
Saturday and Sunday in multiple countries mourning the Israeli assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
Nasrallah, who was martyred on Friday in an Israeli airstrike that leveled several residential buildings near Beirut was a towering figure not only in Lebanon but across West Asia and elsewhere.
Over his 32 years leading the organization, he built Hezbollah into a domestic political force and one of the most powerful resistance forces in the world. Nasrallah maintained that there should be one Palestine instead of “the Zionist entity” with equality for Muslims, Jews and Christians. A powerful orator, he was beloved among many Muslims and non-Muslims over his uncompromising stance toward U.S. imperialism and Israeli apartheid.
Protesters gathered not only in Lebanon, but also in Iran, in the West Bank, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, the Indian-controlled Kashmir, Australia, Sweden, France and elsewhere to mourn his assassination.
In Iran, which announced five days of mourning for Nasrallah, protesters gathered in tens of thousands for a second day across the vast country to condemn the terrorist act and reiterate solidarity with the Lebanese people, the resistance and the Palestinians.
National TV aired footage of protests in several major cities on Sunday. At Iran’s parliament, lawmakers chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Lebanese and Palestinian men displayed photos of Nasrallah at a protest in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon.
In Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians marched through the city in support of Gaza and Lebanon, where an Israeli invasion is being waged, raising flags and pictures of Nasrallah.
Participants in the march vowed to continue with the resistance against Israel and avenge the assassination of Nasrallah and slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, stressing “Palestine’s message is loyalty to the resistance in Lebanon.”
Tayseer al-Zubri, a member of a group called the Palestinian Popular Conference, said the protesters were there to “declare their solidarity with the Lebanese people and unity in the Palestinian-Lebanese struggle”.
Turkish protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy in capital city Ankara on Saturday night, hours after Hezbollah confirmed the martyrdom of Nasrallah. They carried pictures of Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s flags, while chanting slogans against the Zionist regime.
In Istanbul, protesters marched from the Levent Metro Station to the Israeli consulate, chanting: “Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine” and “Murderer Israel, get out of Lebanon”.
Carrying a large Palestinian flag, they unfurled a banner that read: “Genocidal Israel will be held accountable, the resisting peoples of Palestine and Lebanon will win.”
Similar protests took place in neighboring Iraq, where angry demonstrators gathered near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad for hours, as security forces stood by to prevent them from approaching the premises.
Protesters also held a vigil near a bridge leading to the heavily fortified neighborhood in the heart of the city known as the Green Zone.
The protesters carried flags of Hezbollah and Iraqi resistance groups, chanting “Death to U.S.” and “Death to Israel”. They also called for avenging Nasrallah’s blood.
Flags flew at half-mast in Damascus on Sunday and residents said they were still shocked after the assassination Nasrallah, whose fighters helped Syria’s army reclaim large parts of the country during its war on foreign-backed takfiri terrorists.
Syria announced three days of national mourning, with President Bashar al-Assad saying on Sunday that Nasrallah would “remain in the memory of Syrians”.
In Damascus, residents expressed disbelief over Israel’s assassination of Nasrallah.
“He can’t die. He always dreamed of martyrdom, and while this is fitting, it’s still so hard to accept,” said Marwa Barkouka. “He remains alive, not just as a martyr but because he lives inside us. We grew up with him here.”
Many credit Hezbollah’s intervention for key victories, first along Syria’s border with Lebanon and later on in other cities.
“For us, this man was like an entire nation. We had dignity, and now it’s gone,” said Ibrahim Al-Ahmad, another resident of Damascus.
“For someone of his stature, the entire Arab nation didn’t defend him; they left him,” said Baker Haidar Al-Wasiti, another Damascus resident. “We grew up

hearing his voice. We always looked to him to lift our spirits,” he said.

People in Jordanian capital city Amman took to the streets on Saturday night, expressing outrage at Nasrallah’s assassination. They marched toward the Israeli embassy, carrying pictures of Nasrallah and demanding “revenge for his blood and the blood of the martyrs”.

In the Moroccan capital Rabat, people gathered in front of the parliament building to also condemn Nasrallah’s assassination, chanting slogans like “the resistance will not die” and “Nasrallah, rest, we will continue the struggle”.

Morocco normalized ties with Israel in 2020, but many Moroccans have come out in protest since the Gaza war began to call for the severing of ties.

Mourners also gathered in Pakistan, shouting anti-Israel and anti-U.S. slogans. Around 4,000 people rallies in Islamabad and several thousand others in Karachi.

Thousands also rallied in Indian-controlled Kashmir where top pro-India politicians suspended their campaigning for the ongoing regional elections.

The protesters took to the streets holding up pictures of the Lebanese leader and chanting slogans including “Oh martyrs of Palestine, we are with you!” They raised signs and banners with messages denouncing Israel and the United States.

Abbas Ali, 25, a college student who protested in the main city of Srinagar, told Al Jazeera that Nasrallah had stood against oppression and injustice. “We despise the world leaders who remain silent as the bloodshed in Gaza and Lebanon continues,” he said.

“This protest is not just for our dear leader Hassan Nasrallah but also for the oppressed people of Palestine, for Lebanon and for everyone suffering at the hands of oppressors, particularly Israel. Kashmir has always stood for justice for the Palestinian people and will continue to do so, despite the fear and injustice we face ourselves. We cannot be silenced forever.”

All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association (AJKSA), a union of Shia groups, had called for a protest on Sunday evening at Imam Bargah Zadibal in Srinagar.

“We honor Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s life, and legacy, remembering his unwavering resolve, strategic leadership, and compassion. His martyrdom will not diminish our resolve to strive for justice and equality,” senior leader Imran Ansari said.

The solidarity protests were organized despite criminalization of pro-Palestine protests by the authorities, particularly since the region’s semi-autonomous status was stripped in 2019 by the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In Australia, thousands of protesters in Sydney joined demonstrations in Melbourne and other cities around the world, labeling Israel a “terror state”.

Many of those attending the protest in Sydney held placards that mourned Nasrallah’s assassination, while participants waved the Hezbollah flag at demonstrations in Melbourne.

In Sweden, hundreds marched from Odenplan to the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags.

Swedish artist and activist Samuel Girma called Israel “a terrorist state” and urged a boycott of trade with the regime following “terror attacks on Beirut and Lebanon”. Similar protests unfolded in Helsinki, where demonstrators demanded an immediate end to Israeli aggression in Lebanon.

In Paris, protesters gathered near the Innocents Fountain, holding banners that read “End the genocide in Gaza” and “Boycott Israel”. Many wore keffiyehs and carried images of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Zionist forces in 2022.