The southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh bore the scars of Israeli airstrikes as Shiite Muslims gathered on Friday, June 26, 2026, to mark Ashoura. Dozens of people convened near the main square, much of which had been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks. The observances took place amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, with smoke from an airstrike on the outskirts of the city underscoring the ongoing tension.
Lebanese Shiite men passed buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes during their Ashoura procession, while a woman watched as others engaged in ceremonial mourning practices amid the devastation. One Lebanese Shiite wept for a friend killed during the war, bleeding from a self-inflicted ceremonial head wound. Earlier on Friday, state media and Associated Press journalists reported two Israeli airstrikes on the nearby village of Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, though it was not immediately clear if these strikes inflicted any casualties.
Ashoura, observed on the 10th day of the month of Muharram, culminates a 10-day mourning period. It marks the seventh-century killing of Hussein, the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, who was killed alongside members of his family and companions while fighting against the army of Caliph Yazid. Hussein’s refusal to pledge allegiance to the Caliph cemented the schism between Sunni and Shiite Islam and remains a powerful symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice.
Nagham Jaber, whose fiance was killed in the recent war, stated, “This war was truly harsh on all of us, and now we are feeling the meaning of Ashoura more than usual.” Khader Kamal added, “Despite all the hardships, everything happening to the Shiite Muslim community, and the wars we are facing, we came to reaffirm our loyalty, our love and our unwavering passion for Imam Hussein.”
Regional Aggression and Resistance
The Ashoura observances followed a war between predominantly Shiite Iran and the United States and Israel. These powers launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, resulting in the killing of senior officials, including Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The 86-year-old Khamenei, revered by millions of Shiites worldwide, was Iran’s top political leader and held final authority on all religious matters. A funeral procession for Khamenei is scheduled for early July 2026.
Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Kassem, delivered a speech on Friday, asserting that Ashoura is being repeated again by the U.S. and Israel. He stated that his group and its supporters were subjected to a “war of elimination.” Kassem further claimed, “America and Israel also wanted to eliminate Iran by removing the regime and controlling the country.” He referred to a deal reached this month between Washington and Tehran as “a declaration of defeat for America and Israel,” labeling it a “memorandum of understanding.”
Commemorating Resistance
In Lebanon, tens of thousands gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs and in southern Lebanon for the commemorations. In Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, synchronized processions saw tens of thousands beating their chests in remembrance of Hussein and of loved ones killed in the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah supporters sat before a giant billboard displaying the two late Hezbollah leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, alongside other killed Hezbollah commanders, as they listened to the death story of Imam Hussein. Women clutched photographs of sons and brothers killed in the war, many of whom fought for Hezbollah, while others held photographs of Nasrallah or Iran’s Khamenei, with many observed sobbing. One man carried a portrait of his killed brother, a Hezbollah fighter, and a Hezbollah supporter with a tattoo of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s signature lay on the ground, listening to the story. Hezbollah supporters beat their chests, shouted slogans, and one waved an Iranian flag during the march.
In Tehran, residents also gathered for ceremonies and processions, many beating their heads and chests. Devotees with torches set fire to tents in a reenactment of the A.D. 680 battle in present-day Iraq, where Hussein was killed after refusing allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate. Men burned a tent while re-enacting the enemies of Imam Hussein in the battle of Karbala, with people mourning as they filmed the reenactment. Iranians had attended mourning ceremonies on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, and Thursday, June 25, 2026, prior to Ashoura.