Hundreds gather at site of airstrike to remember Nasrallah

Hundreds of people, many in tears, gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs late Saturday at the site where former Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike two months ago.

Candles and the group's yellow flags were planted in and around the huge crater left by the attack during a ceremony organized by the Lebanese group, whose latest war with Israel came to an end when a fragile ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday.

Loudspeakers played speeches by Nasrallah and red lights gave a crimson cast to the scene as giant portraits of the slain leader looked down from the damaged buildings surrounding the site.

"Sayyed Hassan was everything to us. If only we had died and he was still alive," said Lama, a 30-year-old woman who brought her two young children to the event.

"He left a big void," she added.

Nearby a group of young people waving the Hezbollah flag chanted: "At your command, Nasrallah."

"I still can't believe he's dead," said Lea, an 18-year-old student who had come with her friends.

Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, were pummelled by Israeli airstrikes over two months of all-out war in Lebanon.

The escalation in late September had followed nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The September 27 airstrike that killed Nasrallah in an underground bunker also killed another commander, as well as a senior member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Nasrallah was buried in a secret location, for fear his funeral would be targeted by Israel.

After the ceasefire, Hezbollah announced plans for a public funeral but has not specified a date.