BEIRUT - Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem announced Sunday that a grand public funeral for former leader Hassan Nasrallah and other slain senior officials would be held on Feb 23.

"We chose Sunday, Feb 23, for a grand public funeral procession. Several prominent figures are expected to attend," Qassem said in a televised speech, adding that a funeral would also be held on the same day for Hashem Safieddine, who Qassem said had been elected a successor to Nasrallah but was killed before the official announcement of his appointment.

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Qassem explained that "security conditions prevented holding a funeral" during an all-out war between the group and Israel that began on Sept 23, 2024, noting the group decided to hold the funeral as this war ended on Nov 27, 2024.

While mentioning the ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel, Qassem called on the Lebanese government to assume full responsibility for monitoring the deal's implementation and to exert pressure on sponsoring states to halt Israeli aggression and violations.

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Since Nov 27, 2024, a ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Lebanon, halting clashes that erupted between the Israeli army and Hezbollah on Oct 8, 2023, amid the war in the Gaza Strip. The clashes escalated as Israel intensified attacks against Hezbollah last September and killed numerous Hezbollah leaders, including Nasrallah and Safieddine.  

Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon, claiming they are aimed at eliminating Hezbollah threats.