Hezbollah warns Israel it will fire rockets at Tel Aviv if Beirut, suburbs attacked

Nasrallah’s speech added to the tension of back-and-forth warnings between Hezbollah and Israel that have escalated since a July 14 explosion at a suspected Hezbollah arms depot near the Israeli border.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Monday that Israel would hold the Lebanese government responsible for any attacks on Israeli targets by Hezbollah. He warned Lebanon against letting Hezbollah join the new government. He said the government in Beirut could not turn a blind eye to Hezbollah’s activities while the group sits in the Lebanese Parliament and plays a major role in the country’s politics.

Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, made an even starker warning last week, saying that in the event of renewed hostilities, Israel would “go after not only Hezbollah, but the entire state of Lebanon.’’

Nasrallah, appearing on a giant screen from his hiding place, addressed thousands of supporters waving yellow Hezbollah flags who gathered for the rally in south Beirut. He said recent Israeli warnings against Lebanon do not signal that Israel is planning to attack soon.

He said the Israeli warnings were part of a “psychological war’’ aimed at preventing the militant group from joining a new Lebanese unity government, whose formation has been stalled since the June 7 election.

“Today we are capable of striking any city or village’’ in Israel, Nasrallah told the crowd. He promised “surprises’’ if Israel launches a new war on Lebanon. He did not elaborate.

“It is our right to make [Israel] understand that if it bombs Beirut or the southern suburbs, we will strike Tel Aviv,’’ Nasrallah said, drawing the cheers of supporters.

The 2006 war began when Hezbollah guerrillas launched a cross-border attack that killed three Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah calls the outcome of the war “a divine victory’’ because Israel did not crush the guerrillas, who withstood massive Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardment.

A UN-brokered cease-fire has held despite the threats from both sides.