Hezbollah will pick new leader at earliest opportunity, says its deputy chief

Hezbollah will choose a successor to its slain chief Hassan Nasrallah "at the earliest opportunity" and will continue the fight against Israel, the Lebanese group's deputy chief Naim Qassem said on Monday.

He said the group was continuing its operations, working according to plans already laid out, and described its attacks thus far as the "minimum", adding that the battle could be long.

Qassem also said Hezbollah is ready for any Israeli ground offensive into Lebanon and criticised the US for supporting Israel in committing "massacres" with "limitless support".

In the first address by a senior Hezbollah leader since Nasrallah's death last Friday, Qassem also rejected Israel's claims that 20 Hezbollah members were killed, as he said Nasrallah was killed with only four others including an Iranian commander.