BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Wednesday that his guerrillas will fire rockets into the heart of Israel and counter Israeli military advances inside southern Lebanon.
"We are entering a new phase in the confrontation, the phase of (striking) beyond Haifa," Nasrallah said in a televised speech referring to Israel's main northern city.
A senior Israeli official said the threat of rockets being fired further into the country's heart was real, but added that Israel was prepared for the eventuality.
"The Hezbollah threats are not new. We know they have longer-range missiles, we are aware of this strategic threat and we're ready," government secretary Israel Maimon told public radio.
Israel has repeatedly said it believes Hezbollah has longer-range rockets capable of reaching beyond Israel's third city, as far as the commercial capital Tel Aviv, or even the southern city of Beersheva.
The radio quoted Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres as saying: "You have to prepare yourselves for Nasrallah's threats as if they're real even if they're lies."
But it also cited another official as casting doubt on Hezbollah's ability to deliver on the threat because of what he said was a continued reliance on advisors from sponsors Iran and Syria.
"Firing these longer-range missiles depends on those who sponsor them," the official was quoted as saying.
The Hezbollah chief denied that the border town of Bint Jbeil had fallen. A UN spokesman had said Tuesday that Israeli troops had entered the town, a stronghold of the Shiite militant group.
"They do not control Bint Jbeil. All the city of Bint Jbeil is still in the hands of the resistance," Nasrallah said. After he spoke, Israel acknowledged that it was still meeting resistance in the town. Public radio said there had been "six casualties" on the Israeli side.
Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera said they comprised one dead, and five wounded who were still awaiting evacuation from the border area amid the clashes.
The Hezbollah leader alled for "further steadfastness and unity on these decisive days."
