Hizbollah offers Israel end to rocket attacks

Beirut, Aug 4: The leader of Hizbollah yesterday warned Israel it would fire rockets at Tel Aviv if Israel targeted central Beirut, but offered to stop its rocket barrage if Israel ended attacks on civilian areas in Lebanon.

''(If) at any time you decide to stop your campaigns on our cities, suburbs, civilians and infrastructure, we won't strike with rockets any settlement or Israeli city ...,'' Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a taped televised message.

''If you strike Beirut, the Islamic Resistance will strike Tel Aviv and it is able to do so.'' It was the group's first direct claim that it had longer-range missiles that can hit the central Israel city, 130 km (80 miles) south of Lebanon.

A senior Israeli military source was swift to react, telling Israel's Channel One television that the Jewish state would destroy Lebanese infrastructure if Tel Aviv was attacked.

Israeli jets bombed Hizbollah-dominated suburbs of Beirut for the first time in days overnight.

Nasrallah dismissed assessments by Israeli leaders that Hizbollah had been severely weakened and its capabilities diminished.

''You can't destroy Hizbollah ... because the resistance is not a classic army or a regular state ...'' he said. ''The resistance is a people who has the belief, the will and who loves martyrdom.

''The resistance will not be broken, the resistance will not be defeated.''

ELEVEN DEAD

Hizbollah rockets killed eight people in northern Israel on Thursday and at least three Israeli soldiers died in combat in southern Lebanon, the highest number of Israelis killed in one day since fighting began on July 12.

Nasrallah said Israeli ground forces were not achieving much success in south Lebanon, although he acknowledged they had advanced on several fronts in the border area.

''The Israeli army is a giant machine that is blind, stupid and incapable,'' he said.

The black-turbaned cleric, looking relaxed, took a swipe at the United States, vowing that Lebanon would never fall into Washington's hands.

''I assure (you that) whatever the results of the war, Lebanon won't be American and Lebanon won't be Israeli and Lebanon won't be one of the bases for the 'new Middle East' which (President) George Bush wants and which (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice wants.'' Nasrallah also said Israel could not rely on the United States to come to its rescue in Lebanon.

''If you're betting on the US administration and that it is able to save you, it's incapable of saving itself in Iraq or Afghanistan, along with coming to save you in Lebanon, so what can it do? ''The only correct choice is to stop the aggression and to listen to the political process and to stop this nonsense that you have committed and won't end except in Lebanon's victory.''

REUTERS

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