Lieutenant General Ashraf Salem Zaher, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence and Military Production, led a solemn military funeral on Friday for Lieutenant General El-Sayed Hamdi Hassan. The former Commander of the Air Defence Forces passed away after a long and distinguished career dedicated to serving his country.
The state ceremony was held at the Mushir Tantawy Mosque in New Cairo’s Fifth Settlement. The service drew high-ranking dignitaries, including Lieutenant General Ahmed Khalifa, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and the commanders of the military’s main branches. Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, Secretary-General of the Arab League, also attended alongside a gathering of current and former military commanders and officers.
Full military honours were observed to bid a final farewell to one of the military establishment’s historic figures. Lieutenant General Hassan, who commanded the Air Defence Forces from 1979 to 1986, earned a permanent place in Egypt’s military annals for his pivotal role in bolstering the nation’s defensive capabilities.
Following the procession, General Ashraf Salem Zaher extended his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. He expressed the profound grief of the Armed Forces over the loss of an exceptional leader who spent his entire life protecting and elevating the homeland.
As the brass bands fell silent and the procession came to a close, the nation said goodbye not just to a decorated commander, but to a lifetime of duty, reminding all present of the deeply human face of sacrifice.
