Mourners at commander's funeral express loyalty to Hezbollah

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon turned out in force Sunday for the funeral of a top commander killed in an Israeli air strike, in a major show of support for the Iran-backed group.

Hezbollah has hailed commander Ibrahim Akil as "one of its great leaders", saying the 61-year-old died in an "Israeli assassination... in Beirut's southern suburbs" on Friday.

Akil headed Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, and had been on a U.S. sanctions list for nearly a decade.

Israel said Friday's "targeted strike" killed Akil and several other commanders in the Radwan Force.

Men and women, many wearing black, gathered for the packed ceremony in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital where Hezbollah enjoys steadfast support.

Some mourners carried photos of Hezbollah members who have been killed.

Fighters in fatigues and red berets lined up while others carried Akil's coffin and that of another Hezbollah member, both covered in the group's yellow flag, as a brass band played.

Security was tight, with the immediate area surrounded by metal fencing.

Amira Makki, 60, told AFP she was attending the funeral "to say that we are all with" Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"We sacrifice our children and grandchildren for him," she said, carrying a photo of her brother and brother-in-law who were killed by Israeli fire in recent months.

Nearby, a woman who identified herself only as Fatima said that attending Akil's funeral was a "duty".

"Every martyr protects us... and if not for our men's sacrifices, we wouldn't be here," the 26-year-old said.

"We are in... a fateful battle," she told AFP.

- Fingers on the trigger' -

One poster near the procession read: "We will not abandon Palestine", a reference to Hezbollah's position that only a ceasefire in the Gaza war will put an end to its attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since the October 7 attack triggered the Gaza war.

Tensions and violence spiked dramatically this week, with heavy Israeli strikes on south Lebanon and Hezbollah firing rockets at Haifa in north Israel this weekend, raising fears of all-out war.

Addressing the funeral, Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said the group was "ready to face all military possibilities" in its battle with Israel.

The crowd interrupted his speech with intermittent chants of "Death to America, death to Israel!" and expressions of devotion to Nasrallah.

Qassem said Akil was "a commander of Hezbollah operations" and had established the Radwan Force and its leadership in 2008.

Friday's strike targeted an underground meeting of commanders of the force, killing 16 of them.

Lebanon's health ministry has put the overall death toll from the Israeli air strike at 45 people including civilians.

Hezbollah has said a second senior commander, Ahmad Wehbi, was also among the dead.

After the funeral ceremony, mourners walked near the coffins which were placed on a truck and laid with wreaths.

Akil was the second senior Hezbollah commander to be killed since October, after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs in July killed top commander Fouad Shukur.

Also this week, at least 39 people were killed and almost 3,000 wounded when Hezbollah pagers and two-way radios exploded. Hezbollah has blamed Israel, which has not commented.

Despite the soaring violence and growing fears of war, Hezbollah supporters at Sunday's funeral expressed unflinching loyalty to the Shiite Muslim movement.

"We are ready to give our blood and our children," said engineer Hussein Zaarour, 72, who said two of his relatives had been killed since October.

"We are ready, and our fingers are on the trigger," he told AFP.