Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah cried as he thanked those who supported his family on Tuesday as he marked the end of the mourning period for his mother, Mahdiyya Safi al-Din. But the terror leader's soft side did not remain on display for very long, as he compared Israel to the Nazi regime in Germany, saying: "I see no future for this Nazi regime in the region."
Nasrallah said that Israel's alleged bombardment of refugee tents in the Gazan city of Rafah over the weekend would only hasten its collapse and disintegration. "The occupying regime ... lacks conscience or moral principles and it is worse than the Nazis," he said.
Nasrallah delivered a brief speech to thank those who supported him and his family at this time, wiping away a tear as he spoke. "I appreciate your presence and thank you," Nasrallah said at the beginning of his remarks. "I apologize for not being available and not even answering calls. What you have done is very important to us. I was absent due to circumstances you are all aware of." The 'circumstances' he refers to are his Hezbollah terror group's continuing rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel, which have led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel.
According to media reports, Nasrallah's mother died last Saturday after a "serious illness." For security reasons and to avoid exposure, Nasrallah did not sit with his family during the mourning period nor did he meet with those who came to offer condolences.
Video aired on Al Manar after the death of Hassan Nasrallah's mother shows him visiting her in the hospital
In his speech, Nasrallah read out a long list of countries from which he received condolences, including Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt. He also expressed his gratitude to his associates in the Hezbollah leadership and the Amal movement – where his brother holds a senior position – for "being by his father's side from the first moment and receiving condolences for hours."
Nasrallah described his mother as a "caring, patient, quiet and modest woman." He noted that his son Hadi, a Hezbollah terrorist who was killed in 1997 during Operation "Wild Landscape," was her first grandchild. According to Nasrallah, the bond between Hadi and his grandmother was strong, and his death deeply affected her. Nasrallah's choked voice when recounting their relationship revealed his emotions and his struggle with his mother's death and past family events. Following the speech, Hezbollah's Lebanese channel, Al-Manar, aired rare footage of Nasrallah outside his bunker, from when he visited his mother in the hospital.