Hezbollah's Nasrallah commemoration exposes its lost standing in Lebanon, expert says

Tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered in Beirut on Sunday for the second anniversary of Hassan Nasrallah's death, but the absence of Lebanese government officials underscored the group's diminished political standing, according to Lt.-Col. (res.) Moran Levanoni of the INSS. Hezbollah's refusal to hand over territory to the LAF and its inability to compensate war-displaced residents have cost it support even among its Shi'ite base, though analysts note it retains a solid core of loyalists. The event highlighted Hezbollah's ongoing political isolation in Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday for the second anniversary of Hassan Nasrallah's death, but the event laid bare the group's diminished standing in Lebanon. Lt.-Col. (res.) Moran Levanoni, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told The Jerusalem Post that no high-ranking Lebanese officials or political figures attended the commemoration, signaling Hezbollah's ongoing political isolation. Levanoni noted that Hezbollah's efforts to re-center itself politically are falling short, particularly as it has failed to compensate residents of southern Lebanon for losses from the war it restarted on Iran's behalf. The group's refusal to hand over Ali al-Taher Ridge to the Lebanese Armed Forces has also cost it support among its Shi'ite base. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivered a fiery speech accusing the government of opposing the resistance and criticizing President Joseph Aoun. Lebanese journalist Hasan Illaik, sympathetic to Hezbollah, claimed Aoun ordered security chiefs to boycott the event. Despite the divisions, Lt.-Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi of the Alma Research Center noted Hezbollah retains a solid support base, and that opposition voices must translate into action.