At a condolence meeting for the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the India Islamic Cultural Center in New Delhi, attendees were heard chanting slogans such as ‘Death to America’ in memory of the slain leader of the Lebanese militant group.

US President Joe Biden called Nasrallah’s death a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese, and said the US fully supports Israel’s right to self-defense. .

Iranian Ambassador to India Dr. Iraj Elahi and Palestinian Ambassador to India Adnan Al-Hija also participated in the event.

Videos obtained by News18 and going viral on social media show a speaker criticizing the US and Israel for the ongoing conflicts in West Asia.

As the video progresses, one person in the audience is seen chanting ‘Death to America’ to the others. (Death to America). As the prayer gathering progresses, people are heard joining in and chanting slogans.

Hezbollah is not a terrorist group. Hezbollah is a political party. Hezbollah is strong enough to defend itself. We have never denied Iran’s support for Hezbollah,” Elahi, the Iranian envoy, told News18.

Israel killed Hezbollah leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut, dealing a major blow to the Iran-backed group as it fends off an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks.

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Nasrallah in an attack on the group’s central command headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday. Hezbollah confirmed how he was killed.

Nasrallah’s death is a major blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, removing an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah to Tehran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Nasrallah’s killing a necessary step toward “changing the balance of power in the region for years to come.”

“Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was a terrorist,” Netanyahu said in a statement, warning of difficult days ahead.

The Palestinian envoy says that there is no possibility of a ceasefire.

Elahi said while discussing the issue of ceasefire News 18 that the warring parties Israel and Hezbollah will decide the ceasefire.

This issue is between Israel and Hezbollah. But, Iran has always supported the ceasefire and we have called for an end to the invasion and military operations.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting a conflict parallel to Israel’s war against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, in cross-border clashes that have escalated in recent days. .

The health ministry says more than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 6,000 injured in Israeli attacks over the past two weeks, and nearly a million Lebanese have been displaced since Friday. , said Nasir Yasin, the minister coordinating the government’s crisis response Reuters On Saturday

Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel for nearly a year in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza.

Fighting between Israel and Hamas has been ongoing since gunmen from the Palestinian militant group stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking nearly 250 hostages.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced by the war, which has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Palestinian envoy Adnan al-Hijah, who was on stage with panelists at the condolence gathering, said a ceasefire was unlikely, citing the war in Gaza.

“With this (Israeli) regime we don’t feel that is possible. Even the US, which is supporting Israel with the latest weapons, has called for a ceasefire and this extreme regime has not listened. Al-Hijah told News18.

(With input from Siddhant Mishra and agencies)