Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah today threatened Israel with "open war", accusing the Jewish state of killing a top commander who was among the United States' most wanted men.
"Zionists, if you want this type of open war then let the whole world hear: let it be an open war," Mr Nasrallah told mourners at the funeral of Imad Moughniyah, a legend to Hizbullah but one of the men most wanted by Israel and the United States for planning attacks that killed hundreds.
Supporters of the anti-Syrian coalition wave Lebanese flags during a mass rally to mark the third anniversary of the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri
Moughniyah, hunted by Israel and the United States for two decades, was killed by a bomb in Damascus on Tuesday.
Shia Muslim Hizbullah and its main backer Iran accused Israel of killing him. Israel rejected the charge, though its Mossad spy service had long sought to kill him.
Even before Mr Nasrallah spoke, the Jewish state put its embassies and other interests abroad on high alert and boosted troop deployments on the Lebanese border for fear of reprisal.
"We have the right, like all human beings, of self-defence and, God willing, we will do whatever is required to defend our brothers, leaders, people and our country," Mr Nasrallah said, addressing the mass funeral via video link.
He said the group's initial investigation into the killing showed that Israel was behind it. Mr Nasrallah gave no details but said it was an attack outside the "natural battleground" -- both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border.
Mr Nasrallah said that while the assassination was a painful blow, it would not weaken Hizbullah or its military structure. A visibly emotional Nasrallah said Moughniyah had played a major role in Hizbullah's 34-day war against Israel in 2006.
Naim Kassem, Mr Nasrallah's deputy, lead prayers over Moughniyah's coffin, flanked by other members of Hizbullah's leadership, at a mosque in Beirut's southern suburb.
Pallbearers in military uniform carried the casket, draped in Hizbullah's yellow flag, into the street for a funeral procession attended by tens of thousands of men and women and led by a military band.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki attended the funeral and read a condolence note from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.