Hizbollah says Israeli soldiers seized for swap

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday the capture of two Israeli soldiers was aimed at forcing the release of prisoners in Israel.

"What we did today ... is the only feasible path to free detainees from Israeli jails," Nasrallah told a news conference in Beirut, saying Israeli attacks would not lead to the release of the captured soldiers.

He said an Israeli incursion into south Lebanon had been repelled by Hizbollah guerrillas.

"We do not want escalation in the south (of Lebanon), we do not want to bring war to Lebanon ...," he said. "But if the enemy is thinking of escalation and that it wants Lebanon to pay a price then ... we are ready and willing, more than the enemy expects."

Nasrallah said Wednesday's attack was not linked to an Israeli campaign against the Gaza Strip, launched after Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier. He said Hizbollah's decision to capture Israelis was made a long time ago.

"Any military operation will not lead to returning the (Israeli) captives. The only means is indirect negotiation and thus a swap," Nasrallah said.

(Additional reporting by Lin Noueihed)