Nassrallah vows to hit Tel Aviv

Beirut: The Hezbollah leader, for the first time since fighting began 24 days ago, offered on Thursday to stop rocket attacks on northern Israel in return for an end to air strikes throughout Lebanon.

A defiant Hassan Nasrallah, however, vowed to launch rockets into Tel Aviv if Israeli jets were to strike at Beirut proper. Israeli warplanes have hit Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut suburbs repeatedly, most recently before dawn on Thursday.

"If you bomb our capital Beirut, we will bomb the capital of your usurping entity ... We will bomb Tel Aviv," he said.

While threatening Tel Aviv for the first time, Nasrallah also offered his first gesture toward diminishing the conflict, which has taken more than 500 Lebanese lives and killed more than 50 Israelis.

Tel Aviv is Israel's commercial and financial hub, and more than one-quarter of Israel's population lives in the greater Tel Aviv area.

"Anytime you decide to stop your campaign against our cities, villages, civilians and infrastructure, we will not fire rockets on any Israeli colonies or city," he said in a taped video statement broadcast on Hezbollah's Al Manar TV and carried simultaneously on all other Lebanese and Arab satellite channels.

Speaking directly to Israelis, Nasrallah said, "The only choice before you is to stop your aggression and turn to negotiations to end this folly." Parts of the speech were carried live on Israeli television channels, with Hebrew translation.

Nasrallah said his forces were succeeding in inflicting "maximum casualties" on Israeli forces in the south of the country, and said his fighters would not back down from the brutal fighting around towns and villages across the rugged region.

"We naturally prefer that it is a military against military fight, on the ground, on the battlefield we are ready for it," he said.

Nasrallah acknowledged Israeli advances deeper into Lebanon, but said his fighters were not trying to hold ground.

"We are fighting a war. Our policy is not to hang onto geography ... It is beneficial for us to allow them to advance to the entrances to villages this is our goal. Our goal is to inflict maximum casualties and damage to the capabilities of the enemy, and we are succeeding," he said.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah's command and control structures and rocket forces remained intact.

Israel claims to have killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters since the conflict began July 12. The group has acknowledged losing only 46 men.