HEZBOLLAH: WE DIDN'T EXPECT ISRAEL'S TOUGH RESPONSE

Israeli forces resume strikes on Beirut
Hezbollah official says group didn’t expect such a response from Israel
(AP/MSNBC)

NABATIYEH, Lebanon - As Israeli troops sealed off a Hezbollah stronghold and Beirut was pounded by new air strikes, a senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrilla group did not expect Israel to react so strongly to its capture of two Israeli soldiers last month.

Mahmoud Komati, the deputy chief of the Hezbollah politburo, also told The Associated Press that his group will not lay down arms.

"The truth is — let me say this clearly — we didn't even expect (this) response.... that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us," said Komati.

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel. In the past, he said, Israeli reponses to Hezbollah actions included sending in commandos into Lebanon and kidnapping Hezbollah officials or briefly targeting specific Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon.

He said his group had anticipated there would be negotiations on the exchange of the soldiers with three Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it did before.