BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Saturday commemorated one year since leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israel, the opening salvo of a war that ultimately battered his once-powerful group and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
A string of Israeli bunker-busting bombs on a Hezbollah complex in Beirut's southern suburbs killed Nasrallah, who had led the powerful Shi'ite religious, political and military group for more than 30 years.
His heir apparent Hashem Safieddine was killed weeks later. Now pressure is swelling on the group to disarm - a demand Hezbollah has rejected.
Hezbollah's secretary general, Naim Qassem, who assumed the post a month after Nasrallah's killing, delivered a speech to mark the anniversary.
He reaffirmed that Hezbollah would not allow disarmament and warned of a fierce confrontation, describing the fight as an existential battle that the group was capable of facing.
Crowds, including Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, gathered in Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon's south and east, to mark the day.
Tensions over the commemoration have been mounting this week, particularly after Hezbollah projected the portraits of Nasrallah and Safieddine on the towering rocks off the coast of Beirut.
The display went ahead, despite orders by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Beirut governor not to do so, angering Lebanese opponents of Hezbollah who said the cliffs should not be used for political displays.
Nasrallah became secretary general of Hezbollah in 1992 aged just 35 after his predecessor, Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi, was killed in an Israeli helicopter attack.
With his fiery speeches, he swiftly became the public face of a once-shadowy group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli occupation forces.
The day after Hamas' cross-border attack into Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah entered the fray in solidarity with its Palestinian ally by firing on Israel from southern Lebanon.
That prompted exchanges of fire for nearly a year before Israel sharply escalated by detonating explosives-rigged communication devices used by Hezbollah, pummelling the country with air strikes and sending troops into Lebanon's south.
More than 4,000 people were ultimately killed in Israel's military assault, including more than 300 children. Despite a truce, Israel continues to carry out deadly strikes in Lebanon. The Israeli military says they target Hezbollah militants and facilities used by the group to store weapons.
Israel's air and ground campaign prevented a formal burial for Nasrallah for months. Followers have since flocked to his grave to pray.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Additional reporting by Enas Alashray; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by William Mallard and Alison Williams)
