At a condolence meeting held for slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in New Delhi’s India Islamic Cultural Centre, attendees were heard chanting slogans like ‘America Murdabad’ along with slogans commemorating the slain Lebanese militant group chief.
US President Joe Biden had described Nasrallah’s death as a measure of justice for what he called his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese, and said the United States fully supported Israel’s right to self-defence.
The event was also attended by Iranian ambassador to India, Dr Iraj Elahi, and Palestinian envoy to India. Adnan Al-Hija.
#BREAKING : India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi hosts a condolence meeting for assassinated #Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah
Iran’s Ambassador Iraj Elahi and Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Al Hija on the stage with others pic.twitter.com/8Eou6wq0fV
— Siddhant Mishra (@siddhantvm) September 30, 2024
The videos, accessed by News18 and also going viral on social media, show a speaker criticising the US and Israel for the ongoing conflicts in West Asia.
In one of the videos, one man from the audience is seen rallying the rest into cries of ‘America Murdabad’ (Death to the US). People are heard joining in and chanting the slogans as the prayer meeting proceeds.
“Hezbollah is not a terrorist group. Hezbollah is a political party. Hezbollah is strong enough to defend itself. We have never denied the support of Iran for Hezbollah,” the Iranian envoy, Elahi, told News18.
While talking to News18, on the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Ambassador of Iran to India Dr Iraj Elahi says: “The martyrdom of Hassan Nasrullah as a great leader, great politician of Lebanon and well-known man in the world is not a small thing. It’s a big loss for all human beings…, not just for Muslims, not just for Shias, not just for Lebanese, for all our Arabs.”
Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut, dealing a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks.
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in the strike on the group’s central command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Hezbollah confirmed he had been killed, without saying how.