Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday
evening that its group's ability to fire rockets against Israeli cities was not
harmed by an over-four-week-long Israeli offensive, the Shiite group's al-Manar
television reported.
Nasrallah made the remarks in a speech aired on all local and regional
television networks, during which he also urged all Arabs living in northern
Israeli city of Haifa to evacuate as soon as possible.
Nasrallah said that the presence of Arabs in Haifa and "your martyrs and your
wounded" made his group hesitant to hit the city.
Haifa, Israel's third largest city, has been targeted by Hezbollah's rocket
attacks from time to time since Israel-Hezbollah violence started on July 12
when the group kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others during a
cross-border attack.
As for a draft UN resolution proposed by France and the United States to end
the ongoing conflict between the two sides, the Hezbollah leader said the plan
was "unfair and unjust", vowing to continue fighting to the last shot.
Commenting on Lebanese government plan to deploy 15,000 soldiers in south
Lebanon as Israel withdraws its forces from the area, Nasrallah said, "We agree
on deployment of the army, but we do not hide our fear for it."
Stepped-up diplomatic efforts are underway to defuse the ongoing crisis in
the region, while UN Security Council is now working on a revised draft
resolution over the Lebanon crisis.
The Lebanese government has demand an immediate ceasefire and a quick
withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon as part of the ceasefire deal
while Israel demands Hezbollah to be disarmed, southern Lebanon demilitarized
and two captive Israeli soldiers freed.
Over 100 Israelis and about 1,000 Lebanese have been killed in the 29 days of
violence so far, according to the media count.