BEIRUT - Tens of thousands of people gathered on the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday to pay their respects to Hezbollah's slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Carrying pictures of Nasrallah and Hezbollah flags, supporters gathered early on Sunday for a mass funeral for Nasrallah and other slain leaders of the group at a stadium in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut.

The 55,000-seat Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium was nearly full hours before the ceremony was set to start.

"We may have lost a great deal as a man, but we have not lost the value of the resistance because the resistance is clinging on," said Hassan Nasreddine, a Lebanese man headed to the ceremony from the south.

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The funeral was also being held for Hashem Safieddine, who led Hezbollah for a week after Nasrallah's death. He was killed in an Israeli strike before he had been publicly announced as Nasrallah's successor.

After his death, Nasrallah was buried temporarily next to his son, Hadi, who died fighting for Hezbollah in 1997. His official funeral was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon under the terms of a ceasefire which ended last year's war.

Though Israel has largely withdrawn from the south, its troops continue to hold five hilltop positions in the area, and Israel carried out airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, saying it had identified Hezbollah activity.

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The conflict spiraled after Hezbollah opened fire in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.