Nasrallah would strike back at Tel Aviv if Beirut is attacked

Aug 14, 2009, 19:43 GMT

Beirut - The leader of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah vowed Friday to strike deep into Israel if Lebanon is attacked.

'We tell the Israelis today that if they bombard Beirut or the southern suburbs we will strike Tel Aviv,' Nasrallah said during a rally to mark the end of Israel's 33-day attacks on Lebanon in 2006.

Israel on July 12, 2006 waged a wide-scale offensive that lasted 33-days against Lebanon after Hezbollah snatched two Israeli soldiers during a cross-border attack. The war resulted in the killing of 1,200 people, mainly Lebanese civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

'Lebanon must have a deterrent military force. When we have such a force, we can tell the Israelis that they will not be able to achieve their goals,' he added.

Nasrallah said that recent Israeli threats against Lebanon did not portend war on Lebanon but 'rather Israel is seeking to pressure the Lebanese government against Hezbollah's participation in the new Cabinet.'

Hezbollah has a thirteen-member bloc in the Lebanese Parliament and is entitled to one or two ministers in the expected national unity which premier Saad Hariri has been struggling to form since July.