Nasrallah funeral shrouded in secrecy to avoid being targeted by Israel

[Pelican Press 0]

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Nasrallah ******** shrouded in secrecy to avoid being targeted by *******

The body of the

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was recovered from the rubble of an ******** airstrike on Sunday, setting the stage for a dramatic ******** in the coming days.

Najib Mikati, the Lebanese prime minister, said the ******** would be marked by a national holiday, with three days of official mourning starting Monday despite growing fears of an ******** ground invasion.

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from the blast scene on Saturday, his ****** caused by blunt trauma, said the Lebanese authorities.

Although a Shia *******, he was

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and was regarded by many as a pan-***** leader.

His ******** – like his many televised speeches – is likely to garner considerable attention across the region and may be exploited by anti-******** forces as a rallying point.

It could also ignite brewing secular tensions in Lebanon where Shia, Sunni, Druze, ********** and other sects live in fine balance cheek by jowl.

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Najib Mikati, the Lebanese prime minister, said three days of official mourning will start on Monday despite growing fears of an ******** ground invasion – Lebanese Prime Minister’s Press Office/AFP via Getty Images

From 1975 to 1990, Lebanon was mired in a vicious civil war fought on sectarian lines and some ***** a repeat.

It was also reported on Sunday the

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he was hiding in were US-made bunker-busting ******, each weighing 2000 pounds, something that may also increase tensions in and the threat to US assets and citizens in the region.

Fighting continued on at least three fronts across the region on Sunday.

******** airstrikes continued across Lebanon on Sunday and the streets in much of the Lebanese capital remained deserted, with most shops and cafés closed.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched a barrage of at least 35 rockets at northern ******* early on Sunday evening.

According to the IDF, 10 rockets were launched toward Western Galilee with several impacts identified.

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Another 25 rockets were launched toward the Haifa Bay area, setting off sirens in Acre but falling only in open areas.

******* was reported to have sent special forces troops into Southern Lebanon in a “limited” ground incursion, while IDF tanks were pictured gathering in the border area, suggesting a larger offensive could be imminent.

*******’s official war aims now include returning some 60,000 citizens in the north to their homes along the border, something most analysts believe will not be possible without troops on the ground in southern Lebanon.

An ******** official told The Telegraph that the special forces troops were targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure, including weapons sites and command and control centres, in a bid to push them away from the border.

“They are targeting key sites which have been built across the border zone,” the source said.

An ******** intelligence source told The Telegraph that the IDF was moving quickly in the wake of the ************** of Nasrallah in a bid to leverage its advantage.

“The question now is what the US will do, and I just hope the US doesn’t get involved and pull us back,” he said.

The source added: “Until now, the US has done nothing but interfere, both with ****** in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, holding us back in a bid to seek a diplomatic solution when we need to push forward militarily if we stand any chance of defeating Hezbollah and returning the citizens of the north.”

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People gather at the site of Nasrallah’s ************** in Beirut’s southern suburbs – Hassan Ammar

Sources in the ******** defence establishment have become increasingly critical of the ******* States in recent weeks.

The ******* States initially went out of its way to deny involvement in

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, angering many Israelis.

It has since said his ******** would bring a “measure of justice” to his victims, including many US citizens.

While ******* ******** tight-lipped about its ground operations, Andrew Fox, a former British army officer, said ******* likely targeting known Hezbollah positions and attempting to clear the area of munitions and missile launch sites.

But the operation comes with considerable risks.

“The incursion is going to turn the neutral [Lebanese] population against them and cause a lot of damage and condemnation. But if you don’t hold ground, Hezbollah will just re-infiltrate,” Mr Fox told The Telegraph.

A senior IDF official told The Telegraph the operation was necessary because Hezbollah was flouting UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last war between ******* and Hezbollah in 2006.

“The whole freedom of movement for Unifil (******* Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) is gone. They are faced with roadblocks by Hezbollah, turned around, and they don’t challenge this,” the source said, referring to the ******* Nations peacekeeping mission there.

Resolution 1701 states that there should be no armed non-state groups between the UN-delineated line of withdrawal between Lebanon and ******* and the Litani River, which flows between three and 18 miles north of the ******** border.

The resolution also called for Hezbollah and other armed in the area, such as ****** and ************ Islamic ******, to disarm.

******* accuses Hezbollah of effectively taking over multiple towns and villages in the demilitarised since 2006 and using the residents as human shields for its large ******* stockpiles.

A ****-for-tat war that broke out when Hezbollah rocketed ******* on October 8 last year has seen the worst ********* on the border since the 2006 war.

Around 200,000 people have been displaced on both sides of the border, with hundreds of thousands more fleeing southern Lebanon in the wake of *******’s accelerated campaign.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the ******** prime minister, warned Iran and its proxies on Saturday that ******* would respond forcibly to attacks on its territory.

“If someone rises up to ***** you, ***** him first”, he said, before adding: “There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of ******* cannot reach”.

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