MAJDAL SELM, Lebanon: Hezbollah buried 44 people during a mass funeral in southern Lebanon on July 18, including 39 fighters and four civilians killed in Israeli operations, AFP reported.
One other man died of natural causes, bringing the number of bodies buried to 44. Trucks carried the coffins through the heavily damaged village. Meanwhile, mourners held photographs of the dead and Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A list shared online had claimed that the funeral included 129 people. However, the Majdal Selm municipality rejected that figure as “inaccurate and baseless.”
Many families had delayed final burials because fighting prevented them from returning to their hometowns, AFP reported. Shia Muslim rites allow temporary burial when security conditions prevent families from holding full funeral ceremonies.
Hezbollah does not disclose its total fighter losses. Still, the Iran-backed group has held several funerals during the latest pause in fighting.
The lull followed the signing of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding on June 17. Hezbollah had widened the regional conflict by attacking Israel on March 2.
Read: Israeli strike Kills Infant Girl During Funeral in South Lebanon
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun travelled to Washington for expected talks with US President Donald Trump. His visit followed the latest round of US-backed Israel-Lebanon negotiations.
Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement on June 26. Under the plan, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon while the Lebanese army entered two pilot zones, according to the Associated Press.
However, the agreement requires Hezbollah’s disarmament. The group has rejected both that condition and the negotiations.
