Thousands attend funerals of fighters returned from Israel
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There were an estimated 5,000 people mourning at the convention hall. (Reuters: Sharif Karim )
Thousands of people have taken part in a memorial service in Beirut for eight Hezbollah fighters killed in the 2006 war with Israel and whose bodies were returned to their homeland two days earlier.
Some 5,000 people gathered at a convention hall in the Hezbollah stronghold of the southern suburbs of Beirut for the memorial, which was attended by grieving relatives and supporters of the Shiite movement.
Eight coffins draped in the yellow of Hezbollah, decorated with floral wreaths and a picture of each deceased, were placed in the hall.
"These martyrs have defeated the enemy... our enemy who was humiliated yesterday will remain so, by the grace of God," said the head of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safieddine, in a speech inaugurating the ceremony.
"The brothers of these martyrs will confront the enemy if it ever thinks of making the mistake" of attacking Lebanon, he added in reference to Israel.
"The will be buried in this blessed land after their return from the blessed land of Palestine," he continued.
The remains of the eight fighters were handed over to Hezbollah on Wednesday as part of a prisoner swap with Israel that including the return of 199 bodies in total, along with the release of five Lebanese men being held prisoner in Israel.
In exchange, Hezbollah handed over the bodies of two Israeli soldier captured in a cross-border raid on July 12, 2006, that sparked a devastating 34-day war.
After the speech, a prayer was recited for the souls of the dead.
"Israel has fallen," read a sign in yellow and red.
- AFP
