Hizbullah's leader today vowed to wage "open war" against Israeli targets around the world after accusing Israel of assassinating the organisation's militant commander, Imad Mughniyeh. Hassan Nasrallah said Israel, which has denied carrying out the killing in the Syrian capital Damascus, had acted "outside the natural battlefield". "You have crossed the borders," Nasrallah said in a fiery eulogy at Mughniyeh's funeral in south Beirut. "With this murder, its timing, location and method - Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: let this war be open."
"Like all human beings we have a sacred right to defend ourselves," said Nasrallah, speaking in a videotaped message broadcast over a giant screen at the ceremony. "We will do all that takes to defend our country and people."
Nasrallah went into hiding in 2006
Nasrallah warned that Israel's killing of Mughniyeh was a "very big folly" which Israel will eventually pay for. "Mughniyeh's blood will lead to the elimination of Israel. These words are not an emotional reaction," he said, drawing roars from the crowd which raised fists into the air.
In heavy rain, supporters of Hizbullah turned out for the funeral of its top commander.