Hundreds rally in south Beirut suburbs, Yemen in support of Iran, allies

Hundreds of people rallied this evening in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Hezbollah terror group, in support of Iran and its allies, AFP correspondents report.

The rally came despite the ongoing war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, with Israel pounding south and east Lebanon daily and having struck Beirut’s southern suburbs, known locally as Dahiyeh, most recently on Sunday.

AFP correspondents say hundreds of people, including many women and children, are at the rally, some waving Hezbollah or Iranian flags.

Some hold images of Iranian leaders, including the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, and his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28 at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Others hold images of former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in massive Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September 2024 during a previous Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

“We are here Dahiyeh in solidarity with the resistance, to send a message that we are steadfast,” Samar Hammoud, 54, tells AFP at the rally.

“Their planes don’t frighten us, their weapons don’t frighten us. We will stay and struggle and we will be victorious, God willing.”

Some women hold pictures of relatives killed in Israeli strikes in the latest war, while some children wave the Lebanese flag as the crowd chants slogans in support of Iran, Hezbollah, Gaza and Yemen.

Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi terror group and the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza are part of an “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran forces opposed to Israel and the United States.

In Yemen this evening, the Houthi Al-Masirah channel reports crowds holding a similar gathering in Sanaa, with images of scores of demonstrators in the Yemeni capital, which is held by the Iran-backed group.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.