Thousands protested in cities across Pakistan on Sunday after Hezbollah confirmed the death of its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.

Hezbollah announced on Saturday that Nasrallah was killed in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs the previous day, representing a significant blow to the organization he had led for decades.

Around 4,000 people gathered in Islamabad, while approximately 3,000 attended rallies and funeral prayers in Karachi, organized by Shiite Muslim groups.

“We stand against what Israel is doing in Palestine and Lebanon; this is why we are here today,” said 27-year-old Taskeen Zafar during the Islamabad rally.

Nasrallah’s death escalates nearly a year of tit-for-tat cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel, raising concerns about potential regional conflict.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the “growing Israeli adventurism in the Middle East,” calling the killing of Nasrallah a “major escalation in an already volatile region.”

Following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah initiated low-intensity strikes against Israeli troops. Nearly a year later, Israel announced a shift in focus toward battling Hezbollah on its northern front.

Hamas’s October 7 assault resulted in 1,205 deaths, primarily civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures that include hostages killed in captivity. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has led to at least 41,595 deaths in Gaza, mostly among civilians, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry, with the UN describing these figures as reliable.