BEIRUT — Hezbollah's deputy leader says his group is ready for an Israeli ground offensive, as Israel continues air strikes across Lebanon.

In the first speech by a high-ranking official since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Sheikh Naim Qassem says the battle "may be long".

Qassem now says Hezbollah is ready for an Israeli ground offensive, and will keep up the fight against Israel.

The deputy chief says the group is continuing its operations, describing its attacks so far as the "minimum", while adding that the battle could be long, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, Hamas says the leader of its Lebanese group has been killed by Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon

And the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militant group says three of its leaders were killed in a strike on central Beirut.

In Lebanon, officials say more than 1,000 have been killed in the past two weeks, while up to a million people may now be displaced.

Israel killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a strike on Friday, and Qassem says the group will choose his replacement at the earliest opportunity.

The Lebanon-based group has a significant presence in the Lebanese parliament and government, and controls the most powerful armed force in the country.

Hezbollah rose to prominence in the 1980s in opposition to Israel, whose forces had occupied southern Lebanon during the country's 1975-1990 civil war. — BBC