Beirut, Sept 23 (ZEENEWS.COM) Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday his Lebanese guerrillas still had more than 20,000 rockets after their month-long war with Israel and no army in the world could disarm them.

Speaking to a sea of followers at a "divine victory" rally in south Beirut, Nasrallah said the Shi'ite Muslim group had emerged stronger from the conflict and also called for a new government in Lebanon.

"The resistance today, pay attention...has more than 20,000 rockets," he told hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in his first public appearance since the war broke out in July.

"(It) has recovered all its organizational and military capabilities...it is stronger than it was before July 12," Nasrallah told the crowd in the Shi'ite Muslim suburbs which were heavily bombed in the 34-day war.

"There is no army in the world that can (force us) to drop our weapons from our hands, from our grip," he declared.

The huge turnout in a country of just four million was a gesture of defiance to Israel but also marked a challenge to the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Hizbollah has two ministers in the cabinet, but most cabinet members oppose the group's alliances with Syria and Iran.

"The current government is unable to protect Lebanon, or to reconstruct Lebanon or to unify Lebanon," Nasrallah said, calling for a new "national unity government".

Since the war, Israeli officials have said they would continue to target Hizbollah's leadership but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert refused to comment on Thursday on whether Israel would try to kill Nasrallah if he appeared at the rally.

Thousands had walked to the rally from Shi'ite villages in south Lebanon battered by Israel's bombardment and invasion.

The Beirut crowds carried pictures of Nasrallah and yellow Hizbollah flags bearing the message: "Here we are Nasrallah".

Many wore yellow T-shirts and chanted pro-Hizbollah slogans. Some said they were there not only to celebrate but also simply to see the charismatic Nasrallah.

"God was generous to us and granted us this victory against our enemy. He was generous to us and gave us Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah so we come here to celebrate with him," Hussein Kaddouh, 29, from the southern village of Yater, said.

Withdrawal Delayed

The rally had been expected to coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south, but Israel's army chief said on Wednesday the pullout might take a few more days.

Israeli forces have been gradually leaving territory they captured in fighting that began after Hizbollah guerrillas seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Israel and Hizbollah have both declared themselves victors in the war which killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers.

Israeli warplanes pounded Hizbollah strongholds during the war and bombarded bridges and roads across the country, forcing almost a million people to flee their homes. Hizbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel.

Under an August truce which ended the fighting, United Nations reinforcements and Lebanese army forces are deploying in the south to monitor the ceasefire and try to assert the authority of the Beirut government.