'US vision of new Middle East shattered'

Beirut: Last summer's war in south Lebanon has left the US vision of a "new Middle East" in shambles, and Hezbollah is ready to strike Israel at any time, the group's leader said late on Saturday.

"We will not wait for anyone to defend us. We will defend ourselves and our country," Hassan Nasrallah told a mass rally in the southern town of Bint Jbeil.

"We possess and we will continue to possess rockets that can hit any area in occupied Palestine if Israel attacks Lebanon," he said.

Nasrallah did not personally attend the rally, but his speech was relayed to the crowd on a giant screen set up in the town's main square.

Nasrallah said the group would never be at peace with Israel. "It is impossible to live with a back-stabbing enemy on our border, who has been assaulting us ever since it was born," he said.

Prisoner swap

He said the fighters' steadfastness in front-line villages had led to the failure of the Israeli attack and subsequently prevented Israel from achieving any of its declared objectives, namely destroying Hezbollah's military structure and securing the release of two captive soldiers.

"The [Israeli] enemy has even failed to return the two prisoners," he said.

He dismissed unnamed pressures to release the two Israeli soldiers, whose capture triggered last year's war.

Nasrallah said the only way to secure their freedom was through "indirect negotiations and a [prisoner] exchange" with Lebanese citizens held by Israel.

He also called for national unity in the rally.