Hezbollah says it is ready for any Israeli land invasion of Lebanon

Israeli air strikes on targets in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon continue

Hezbollah fighters are primed to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, the group's deputy leader Naim Qassem said in his first public speech since Israeli air strikes killed its veteran chief Hassan Nasrallah last week.

Israel will not achieve its goals, he said.

"We will face any possibility, and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement," he said in an address from an undisclosed location on Sept 30.

He was speaking as Israeli air strikes on targets in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon continued, extending a two-week wave of attacks that has eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also killed about 1,000 Lebanese and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.

Nasrallah's killing, along with the series of strikes against the organisation's communications devices and assassination of other senior commanders, constitutes the biggest blow to the organisation since Iran created it in 1982 to fight Israel.

He had built it up into Lebanon's most powerful military and political force, with wide sway across the Middle East.

Now Hezbollah faces the challenge of replacing a charismatic, towering leader who was a hero to millions of supporters because he stood up to Israel even though the West branded him a terrorist mastermind.

"We will choose a secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity... and we will fill the leadership and positions on a permanent basis," Qassem said.