Lebanon's army - which so far has sat on the sidelines of theviolence raging in the country - will join the fight against Israel if Israeli forces invade the country, the defense minister said on Thursday.

"Ahlan Wa Sahlan" - Arabic for "Welcome" - the minister, Elias Murr, said on Al-Jazeera television.

"We are waiting for them so that we can defend our land, honor and dignity.

"The Lebanese army - and I stress - the Lebanese army will resist and defend and will prove that it is an army that deserves respect," he said.

In most of the previous Israeli attacks on Lebanon - including the invasions of 1978 and the 1982 invasion in which the capital Beirut was occupied - the Lebanese army largely stayed out of the fighting.

Twenty Lebanese soldiers have been killed in strikes on their bases during the nine-day-old Israeli bombardment of Lebanon.