Grief under siege: Mass funeral in South Lebanon as Israeli occupation of Kfarkela continues

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi 

Amid the rubble of destroyed homes and under the watchful eye of Israeli surveillance, two trucks carrying the bodies of 25 people made their way through the border town of Kfarkela.  

Among the dead were nine civilians, while the rest were Hezbollah fighters, all killed in Israel's ongoing aggression on Lebanon. The attack has not ceased, as Israel continues to occupy the border area of Kfarkela, turning it into a buffer zone.  

Grief accompanied the coffins with flowers and tears as people mourned alongside the families of other fallen fighters and civilians. The sorrow was shared by dozens of women in Kfarkela who had lost their sons to the war. 

However, in this town, not only young men are buried—children, too, have fallen victim to an Israeli war machine that prides itself on precision but has repeatedly chosen to strike mindlessly.  

A collective prayer was held for the victims in the town's stadium, followed by a Hezbollah statement addressing Israel's presence in Kfarkela.  

This scene is unlikely to be the last. Several border towns are preparing to bury their dead as logistical arrangements continue. 

Hundreds of bodies remain unburied, and no official toll has been released on the total number of casualties from Israel's attacks since September.