Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah made a rare public appearance on Monday in the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, addressing thousands of his supporters ahead of the Shiite Ashura commemorations.
As he appeared on stage wearing a black robe and turban, the crowd seen in a live broadcast on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television began cheering wildly, as they apparently had not expected to see him.
The head of the Shiite militant group, whose forces are fighting in Syria alongside the troops of President Bashar al-Assad, usually addresses supporters via video link for fear of assassination by arch-foe Israel, and had not appeared in public since July.