Shots in the Air, Wails, and Disbelief in Beirut After Hezbollah Leader Killed

By Maya Gebeily

BEIRUT – Armed individuals discharged weapons into the air and closed down businesses in various areas of Beirut on Saturday, as supporters of Hezbollah expressed their shock and disbelief following the reported death of the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death in a statement, just hours after the Israeli military announced that it had targeted him in an airstrike on the group’s headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs the previous day.

His death represents a significant loss for Hezbollah amidst an ongoing series of Israeli assaults. As the news circulated, many supporters clung to hope that the reports were untrue.

“God, I hope it’s not true. It’s a disaster if it is,” said Zahraa, a young woman who had been forced to flee from Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. “He was leading us. He was everything to us. We were under his wings,” she shared tearfully in a phone interview.

She recounted that several individuals around her fainted or screamed upon receiving the notification of Hezbollah’s official statement confirming Nasrallah’s death.

Nasrallah had been at the helm of Hezbollah since the assassination of the group’s previous leader in an Israeli operation in 1992. He was widely recognized for his televised speeches, which garnered attention from both supporters and detractors of the group.

“We’re still waiting for him to appear on television at 5 p.m. and tell us that everything is okay, that we can go back home,” Zahraa said.

In several regions of Beirut, armed men reportedly entered shops and ordered business owners to close their establishments, although the specific affiliations of these individuals remained unclear. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire in the Hamra district as mourners shot into the air, accompanied by chants of “For you, Nasrallah!”

Such gunfire commonly accompanies processions of mourning or celebration in the region; in this instance, it was clearly a sign of grief.

Processions also moved through Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to reports from Hezbollah’s affiliated television station.

In response to the unfolding situation, Lebanon’s army heightened security measures throughout the capital and increased deployment around the U.S. embassy situated north of Beirut. Sources indicated that security forces were bracing for a potential escalation of sectarian tensions.

Lebanon is characterized by a delicate balance of religious sects, including various Muslim and Christian communities, represented by rival political factions. Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah emerged as the most powerful group in the country.

In mourning for their fallen leader, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV broadcast verses from the Koran, while a correspondent from a typically anti-Hezbollah station offered condolences during a live report.