Tens of thousands of people packed into a stadium in Beirut early on Sunday to attend the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.

Hassan Nasrallah was killed when Israel’s air force dropped more than 80 bombs on the militant group’s main operations room. His death was a major blow for the Iran-backed group that the late leader transformed into a potent force in West Asia.

Nasrallah was the group’s leader for more than 30 years and one of its founders. He enjoyed wide influence among Iran-backed groups in the region and was widely respected in the so-called Iran-led axis of resistance that included Iraqi, Yemeni and Palestinian factions.

Sahar al-Attar, a mourner who travelled from Lebanon’s Bekaa valley for the funeral said she still “cannot believe what happened”.

“We would have come even under bullets” to attend Nasrallah’s burial, she said. “It is an indescribable feeling.”

Officials from around the region including Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi were expected to attend the
funeral at the Lebanese capital’s main sports stadium.