Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah invited Lebanese on Sunday to attend a "victory" rally in the guerrilla group's stronghold in Beirut, battered by Israel Defense Forces in a 34-day war.

"I call on you all to participate in a victory rally, your victory ... next Friday afternoon in the southern suburb, the suburb of honour, glory, faith, steadfastness and victory for the whole country and the whole nation," he said in a message aired on Hizbollah's Al-Manar Television.

"Let us renew our covenant and declare our joy at the divine victory to the whole world," he said.

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It was not clear if Nasrallah himself would attend the rally amid fears of Israeli attack. The Muslim cleric has not made a public appearance since a July 12 press conference to announce the capture of two IDF soldiers in a cross-border raid that sparked the war.

Hezbollah has declared victory in the war which killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis.

Israel Air Force warplanes pounded Hizbollah's strongholds during the war and bombarded bridges and roads across the country, forcing almost a million people to flee their homes.

The rally will take place in the southern suburb of Beirut, a Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah stronghold which was among the areas most devastated by IAF strikes.

Nasrallah said the rally would be held in honour of Lebanese who were killed in the war and Lebanese detainees who remain in Israeli jails.

Hezbollah wants to exchange the two IDF soldiers for Lebanese detainees held in Israel. The United Nations has appointed an envoy to "facilitate" the release of the soldiers.

Israel says hands over most of south Lebanon to UN force
Israel Defense Forces troops have withdrawn from more than 80 percent of Lebanese territory conquered during the offensive against Hezbollah, handing it over to UN peacekeepers, the IDF said on Sunday.

Media reports have quoted top military officials as voicing hope for a complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon by the Jewish new year, on Sept. 24.

But the army has said the pace of pullouts depended on the full deployment of a UNIFIL contingent.

"There is no set date for a complete withdrawal. It depends on many things including developments in the field. But we want a full withdrawal as soon as possible," an army spokeswoman said.

Since the fighting ended with a shaky ceasefire on Aug. 14, the IDF has been handing over control of southern Lebanon to UNIFIL II, an expanded version of the original peacekeeper garrison in the area.

The UN Security Council resolution that led to the ceasefire called for 15,000 troops to join a similar number of Lebanese army troops deploying in the south of the country.

There are currently 4,600 international troops in southern Lebanon. The mandate of the strengthened international force is still under dispute.

The IDF maintains control of a narrow strip of land along the southern border.