AP images provide a close-up view of the smoldering site where Nasrallah was killed

BEIRUT — More than two days after a massive Israeli airstrike that killed the leader of the militant group Hezbollah, smoke still rises from the smoldering wreckage.

Israel said Friday evening’s attack targeted a rally at an underground Hezbollah complex. The blasts leveled several high-rise residential towers in the densely populated, predominantly Shiite southern suburb of Dahiyeh.

Hezbollah confirmed in a statement on Saturday that its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in the attack – a huge blow to the group he had led for 32 years.

Associated Press journalists on Sunday saw smoke visible above the rubble as people flocked to the site, some to see what was left of their homes, others to pay respects and pray, and others simply to see the destruction to behold.

Beirut residents heard up to 10 explosions after Friday’s strike that targeted an area larger than a city block, reducing several residential buildings to a jumble of pancaked concrete and twisted steel. The buildings sank into the ground, leaving behind a cleared area almost the size of a football field.

Israel did not immediately comment on the type or number of bombs used, but experts said the explosions and destruction left behind were consistent with the 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) class bombs, likely designed to detonate after penetrating structures.

Spectators at the site on Sunday clambered over large slabs of concrete, surrounded by tall piles of twisted metal and wreckage. Several craters were visible, probably used by rescuers to penetrate beneath the explosion site, some apparently up to 30 meters deep.

A few Hezbollah workers used a bulldozer to dig around one of the craters, some of which had apparently been dug by rescuers to reach the dead. State security and investigators were nowhere to be seen.

The AP footage provided one of the best views of the scene of the murder and the extent of the destruction it caused.

So far, six deaths have been confirmed at the site, along with dozens of injuries, but it is not clear whether diggers are still searching for bodies. Some people at the scene on Sunday said their relatives were still missing.

A woman wearing the head-to-toe black robe known as the chador stood to the side and read from the Islamic holy book, the Koran, as a group of bystanders wept. One man collapsed in tears after seeing the immense destruction.

“You say, you say!” he exclaimed, with his head against a wall, as he called Nasrallah by his honorific title.

“Our morale is high and the fight will continue,” said Ali Rahhal, 30. “From here, from the heart of Dahiyeh, we say ‘labbayka ya, Nasrallah’,” he said. The Arabic phrase, meaning “at your service, Nasrallah,” was often chanted by supporters at Hezbollah rallies.

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Associated Press writer Fadi Tawil contributed reporting.