Thousands protest as Pakistan condemns killing of Hezbollah leader

Thousands of people protested in Pakistan cities on Sunday after the Hezbollah confirmed that its longtime chief had been killed by an Israeli air strike in Lebanon.

Hezbollah said on Saturday Hassan Nasrallah was killed in the strike on Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier, dealing a massive blow to the group he had led for decades.

Around 4,000 people gathered in the Pakistan capital Islamabad and 3,000 in the southern port city of Karachi during rallies and funeral prayers for Nasrallah.

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"We stand against what Israel is doing in Palestine and Lebanon, this is why we are here today," 27-year-old Taskeen Zafar said during the rally in Islamabad.

The killing of Nasrallah marked a sharp escalation in nearly a year of tit-for-tat cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel, and risks plunging the wider region into war.

"Pakistan strongly condemns the growing Israeli adventurism in the Middle East," Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.

"Yesterday's reckless act of killing the Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon constitutes a major escalation in an already volatile region."

Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked on Israel on October 7.

Nearly a year later, Israel announced attacks on Hezbollah on its northern front.

• Israel killing of Hezbollah chief Nasrallah sparks condemnation