Lebanese town official Sharif Badreddine begged his youngest son not to leave to fight for Hezbollah against Israel in the country's south, but as the tearful father buried his child he could not hide a sense of pride.
In the face of a government push to disarm the movement, its supporters call on a long-held enmity with Israel, deep religious beliefs and backing from Iran to justify their sons' sacrifice in the group's latest war that has killed thousands in Lebanon.
"Before he left, I told him, 'Don't go, the situation is bad,'" Badreddine, 67, told AFP.
