Thousands visit the monument to former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

Thousands of people have arrived at the site where former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike after the group was allowed into the area for the first time for a public memorial service.

The huge crater left by the attack in Beirut was lit red and decorated with Hezbollah flags. At its center, torches projected beams of light into the night sky.

Men, women and children wept at the sight of the crater while the crowd chanted “At your service, Nasrallah” – a common rallying cry among Hezbollah supporters.

Nasrallah led Hezbollah for more than 30 years as it became a formidable force in Lebanon and made him one of the most influential figures in the Middle East.

A ceasefire agreement reached between Hezbollah and Israel on Wednesday paved the way for the southern suburb where Nasrallah was killed on September 27 to be opened to journalists and the public.

The militant and political group had previously tightly guarded access to the suburb, known as Dahieh, particularly the site where Nasrallah was assassinated, which was completely cordoned off.

The Israeli strike that killed the Hezbollah leader reportedly consisted of up to 80 bunker bombs and destroyed several residential buildings in Harek Hreik – the neighborhood that is the center of Hezbollah operations in Beirut.

When the crowd was first allowed into the site on Saturday evening, people streamed into the open area left by the destroyed buildings and climbed around the edges of the crater.

Many held candles and pictures of the 64-year-old Nasrallah while a sound system played a speech by the former leader.

“For two and a half months we have refused to believe that he is really dead,” said 31-year-old Narjis Khshaish, crying and holding a candle.

“We were all just waiting to get to this place to receive his blessing,” she said.

Moussa Dirani, 57, brought his teenage son to the memorial service. “It is very sad and painful to see this site,” he said. “But the resistance does not stop with Nasrallah, his death gives us the strength to continue his path.”

The hundreds of Hezbollah flags at the event would “continue to fly high,” said Fida Nasreddine, 34. “We stand with Hassan Nasrallah until his last breath,” she said.

Nasrallah’s assassination shocked Lebanon and the world when the news broke in September. He had rarely been seen in public since Hezbollah’s war against Israel in 2006 and was protected at all times by tight security.

He was one of several senior Hezbollah figures killed in airstrikes by Israel between September and Wednesday’s ceasefire agreement.

The group was badly damaged by the attacks, but the jubilation in Hezbollah-dominated areas of Beirut “cannot be dismissed as insincere,” said David Wood, a Lebanon analyst at Crisis Group.

“The achievements that Hezbollah has promoted – maintaining its ground operations against Israel, ensuring that tens of thousands of Israelis have not been able to return to their homes, and the severe impact on the Israeli economy – I do not believe that these achievements are worthless. “I think many of his supporters will see an element of victory in this.”

Additional reporting by Joanna Mazjoub.