BEIRUT, Feb 23: Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black, some waving Hezbollah flags or carrying portraits of the group's slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, flocked to his funeral Sunday in a stadium on the outskirts of Beirut.
The killing of the charismatic leader, who guided the Lebanese movement for more than three decades, dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group's reputation as a fighting force.
But Hezbollah, which also played a major role in the country's politics for decades, has long had a support base in the country's majority Shiite Muslim community by providing social and economic services.
Many men, women and children from Lebanon and beyond walked on foot in the biting cold to reach the site of the ceremony, delayed for security reasons after Nasrallah's death in a massive Israeli strike on Hezbollah's south Beirut bastion in September.
One of them was Umm Mahdi, 55, who had come "to see him (Nasrallah) one last time and see his shrine... Of course, we feel sadness".
"This is the least we can do for Sayyed who gave up everything," she added, using an honorific.
As the crowds gathered, Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes on areas in Lebanon's south, including a location about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the border.
Israel's military said it had struck in southern Lebanon "several rocket launchers that posed an imminent threat to Israeli civilians".
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Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah went into effect on November 27.
Giant portraits of the bushy-bearded Nasrallah and of Hashem Safieddine -- Nasrallah's chosen successor killed in another Israeli air strike before he could assume the post -- have been plastered on walls and bridges across south Beirut.
One was also hung above a stage erected on the pitch of the packed Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of the capital where the funeral for both leaders is to be held.
The stadium has a capacity of around 50,000 but Hezbollah organisers have installed tens of thousands of extra seats on the pitch and outside, where mourners will be able to follow the ceremony on a giant screen.