Sawt Falasteen - Hezbollah supporters defiant after sons killed fighting Israel

In the face of a government push to disarm the movement, its supporters call on a long-held enmity with Israel, deep religious beliefs and backing from Iran to justify their sons' sacrifice in the group's latest war that has killed thousands in Lebanon.

"Before he left, I told him, 'Don't go, the situation is bad,'" Badreddine, 67, told AFP.

But his son Ahmad, who was in his twenties with two children, insisted, leaving his father no choice but to accept his death as a necessary sacrifice for his homeland, where Israel has launched several invasions since the 1970s.

"I am proud of him. He was martyred on the front lines. This is an honour for me," said the grieving father, who last saw his son six weeks ago.

"He was defending me, all of southern Lebanon, and all of Lebanon."

As the father buried his son alongside 13 others, including two rescuers, in southern Lebanon's Kfar Sir, a 10-day truce agreed between Israel and Lebanon that began on Friday had brought some calm to the area.

Israel conducted huge strikes across Lebanon, including Kfar Sir, and invaded the south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran on March 2, killing more than 2,400 people according to Lebanese authorities.

The ceasefire allowed displaced residents of the town, which sits 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Israel's border, to return and mourn the 14 men, some killed in Israeli strikes and others in clashes with invading troops.

"These young men did us proud. They forced the Israelis to retreat. The Israelis were unable to achieve their goals," said father-of-five Badreddine, one of the few who remained in the town.

If his other son decided to fight, he said he would hold his head "high thanks to him too".

- 'The last inch' -

Faces in the crowd were filled with gloom and sadness as mourners waited for the Hezbollah-organised ceremony to begin.

The men's pictures were hung around the town, and when their coffins draped in Hezbollah's yellow flags reached its square, women in black ululated, wept and threw roses and rice from balconies.

Amena al-Shami stood looking at her son Hassain Sheaito's coffin, weeping while women hugged her.

"He defended our pride, our dignity, and our honour. He sacrificed himself and offered himself up on the border," she said while holding up his picture.

"I still have two young men to offer as well."

The scene showed the entrenched support of Hezbollah that remains in southern towns despite the government banning the group's military activities at the beginning of March, shortly after the start of the war.

Hezbollah has not officially mourned the fighters it lost in more than six weeks of war, but mass funerals have been held by relatives in southern towns like Kfar Sir.

The truce came after unprecedented direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington ahead of future negotiations, which Hezbollah and its supporters are strongly opposed to.

Shami called the talks "cowardice" and said the group's fighters remained unbowed despite being squeezed by the government and Israel.

"We will continue on this path to liberate the last inch of Lebanon," she said.

- 'Honoured' -

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP on Monday that thousands of young men are "demanding to join the ranks" of the group to fight Israel's invasion, indicative of the fierce belief among its supporters.

Following the ceasefire, the Israeli army said it had established a "yellow line" in southern Lebanon.

It encompasses dozens of villages and is reminiscent of Israel's occupation of a 20-kilometre-deep strip of land along the border until 2000.

Hezbollah has vowed to break the line through "resistance".

Sitting on a chair in Kfar Sir's square, teary-eyed Haydar Sbeiti, 68, talks about his engineer son, Mahmoud, killed by Israel in the war.

"We have been on this path for a long time," he said. "He chose this path from a young age, and I encouraged him. I am honoured to be the father of a martyr."

He said he had three other sons who were defiant and ready to join the fight against Israel.

"We are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for Lebanon, its people, and the resistance."

D.Qudsi--SF-PST