NABATIEH — A procession commemorating Ashura took place in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, on Thursday. Approximately 200 people attended the ceremony. The annual Ashura commemoration typically draws up to 30,000 people to Nabatieh, but Israeli bombings and evacuation orders displaced nearly all of the city's 80,000 residents.

Israel conducted airstrikes around Nabatieh on Friday that killed 18 people and wounded 33 others. Hezbollah fired on Israeli troops on Friday morning, killing four soldiers. More than 3,900 people have been killed in Lebanon as a result of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict.

A ceasefire announced on Monday between the U.S. and Iran halted the advance of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. However, "We expected things to be better than they are now. We wanted a real ceasefire. We decided to do Ashura in Nabatieh because we wanted to create a reason for people to come back." Mehdi Sadek, head of the ambulance service, said. Israeli troops positioned themselves beyond the Ali Taher hill on the edge of Nabatieh, and an Israeli drone flew over the Ashura gathering.

The Lebanese army blocked road entrances to the upper part of Nabatieh and bordering villages after Israeli forces fired on returning civilians on Tuesday. Israeli forces also shelled near ambulances on Tuesday as crews approached a fire south of the city. Civil defence crews recovered bodies from rubble in Nabatieh during the ceremony.

Volunteers with the Nabatieh ambulance service cleared rubble from the city's central mosque before the ceremony, and black banners were installed on the mosque's walls to cover gaps caused by an airstrike. "Usually we take the entire month to prepare for Ashura. This time we just had two days." Sadek said. Hussein Fakih, regional civil defence head, said, "Here in Nabatieh, it still is the same; it's even harder. It's unclear whether there's a ceasefire or not."

Ismail Yaghi, a ceremony attendee, said, "This year Ashura has a special meaning to us. We have lived the battle of Karbala every day during this war." The Ashura religious ceremony mourns the slaying of Imam Hussein in the battle of Karbala in 680, and it serves as a symbol of resistance against oppression for Shia Muslims. "There is sadness in our hearts and a pride at the same time for our martyrs. But we believe that just because someone died, it doesn't mean that their life has ended. Their eternal life has just begun." Yaghi added. A poster at a roundabout in the neighbouring village of Harouf displays the faces of 50 local Hezbollah fighters killed in the conflict.