\u201cI am proud of him. He was martyred on the front lines. This is an honor for me,\u201d said the grieving father, who last saw his son six weeks ago. \u201cHe was defending me, all of southern Lebanon, and all of Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t As the father buried his son alongside 13 others, including two rescuers, in southern Lebanon\u2019s Kfar Sir, a 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon that began on Friday had brought some calm to the area.<\/p>\n Israel conducted huge strikes across Lebanon, including Kfar Sir, and invaded the south after Hezbollah on March 2 began pummeling northern Israel with rockets and drones in support of its backer Iran, which came under attack from a joint US-Israeli campaign. The fighting has killed more than 2,400 people according to Lebanese authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and noncombatants.<\/p>\n The ceasefire led displaced residents of the town, which sits 15 kilometers (nine miles) north of Israel\u2019s border, to return and mourn the 14 men, some killed in Israeli strikes and others in clashes with IDF troops.<\/p>\n \u201cThese young men did us proud. They forced the Israelis to retreat. The Israelis were unable to achieve their goals,\u201d said father of five Badreddine, one of the few who remained in the town.<\/p>\n If his other son decided to fight, he said he would hold his head \u201chigh thanks to him too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018The last inch\u2019<\/p>\n Faces in the crowd were filled with gloom and sadness as mourners waited for the Hezbollah-organized ceremony to begin.<\/p>\n The men\u2019s pictures were hung around the town, and when their coffins draped in Hezbollah\u2019s yellow flags reached its square, women in black ululated, wept and threw roses and rice from balconies.<\/p>\n Amena al-Shami stood looking at her son Hassain Sheaito\u2019s coffin, weeping while women hugged her.<\/p>\n \u201cHe defended our pride, our dignity, and our honor. He sacrificed himself and offered himself up on the border,\u201d she said while holding up his picture. \u201cI still have two young men to offer as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The scene showed the entrenched support of Hezbollah that remains in southern towns despite the government banning the group\u2019s military activities at the beginning of March, shortly after the start of the war.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \t The truce came after unprecedented direct talks<\/a> between Lebanon and Israel in Washington ahead of planned peace negotiations, which Hezbollah and its supporters are strongly opposed to. A second round of talks<\/a> is scheduled for Thursday.<\/p>\n Shami called the talks \u201ccowardice\u201d and said the group\u2019s fighters remained unbowed despite being squeezed by the government and Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue on this path to liberate the last inch of Lebanon,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2018Honored\u2019<\/p>\n Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP on Monday that thousands of young men are \u201cdemanding to join the ranks\u201d of the group to fight Israel\u2019s invasion, indicative of the fierce belief among its supporters.<\/p>\n Following the ceasefire, the Israeli army said it had established a \u201cyellow line\u201d in southern Lebanon that it says is necessary to defend Israeli border communities from Hezbollah\u2019s incessant attacks.<\/p>\n \t It encompasses dozens of villages and is somewhat reminiscent of Israel\u2019s occupation of a 20-kilometer-deep strip of land along the border until 2000.<\/p>\n Hezbollah has vowed to break the line through \u201cresistance.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Sitting on a chair in Kfar Sir\u2019s square, teary-eyed Haydar Sbeiti, 68, talked about his engineer son, Mahmoud, killed fighting Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been on this path for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cHe chose this path from a young age, and I encouraged him. I am honored to be the father of a martyr.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he had three other sons who were defiant and ready to join the fight against Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for Lebanon, its people, and the resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tWomen mourn while holding portraits of Hezbollah fighters killed before the ceasefire in the war between Hezbollah and Israel during a mass funeral procession in the southern village of Kfar Sir, Lebanon, April 21, 2026. (Hassan Ammar\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/11638838-6585-4d6d-9af5-e847206ff5ce-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tTroops of the 7th Armored Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on April 22, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AFP__20260420__A8DV7G3__v2__HighRes__LebanonIsraelIranUsWar-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tHezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah speaks during an interview with an AFP journalist at the Lebanese Parliament in Beirut on April 20, 2026. (Anwar AMRO \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26111649989902-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tWomen mourn during a mass funeral procession for Hezbollah fighters killed before the ceasefire in the war with Israel in the southern village of Kfar Sir, Lebanon, April 21, 2026. (Hassan Ammar\/AP)<\/p>\n
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