Beirut, Lebanon ? Hezbollah’s reclusive leader claimed Saturday the militant group had the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon during the 2006 war, saying the dead were left behind “in our villages and fields.”

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah’s graphic description appeared aimed at pressuring Israel to accept a prisoner exchange. Israel is thought to be holding at least seven Lebanese prisoners while Hezbollah has two Israeli soldiers it captured in July 2006, triggering the war.

“Your army left behind the remains of soldiers in our villages and fields,” he said, in a mocking address to the Israeli people, during a speech to tens of thousands of Shiites taking part in commemorations marking Ashoura, their most important holiday. “They (Israeli army) were so weak on the field that they left behind remains not of one, two or three but a large number of your soldiers.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office refused to respond to Nasrallah’s comments. The Israeli military condemned them as “cruel and cynical,” although it refused to address the substance of the claims.

“His speech demonstrates that the Hezbollah terrorist organization violates the values that are sacred to all religions including Islam,” the statement said. “We call upon all those with the most basic common sense to view him as cowardly and to condemn him.”

Commentators on Israeli evening newscasts were adamant that no Israeli bodies from the 2006 fighting were unaccounted for.

“All the fallen soldiers have been buried,” Channel 10 Arab affairs analyst Tzvika Yehezkeli said. “His claims regarding a corpse are being denied in Israel, both in the defense establishment and other departments which dealt with the war. It is not true.”

Other commentators noted that there were detailed pathological reports following the death of each soldier. Official Israeli figures say 119 Israeli soldiers died in the 2006 fighting

The Israeli military has a staunch tradition of not leaving the bodies of fallen fighters in enemy hands, in keeping with Jewish religion demands that the dead be laid to rest in their entirety, in so far as that is possible.

“One body is almost complete,” Nasrallah said. “What did the (Israeli) army say to the family of this soldiers and what remains did they give them?” he asked.

In an interview earlier this year, Nasrallah said his group had the remains of Israeli troops killed in Lebanon, but he did not go into detail at the time. He claimed in the interview that Hezbollah offered during negotiations to return the remains, but the Israeli side was not interested. Israel denied the claims at the time.

Nasrallah’s appearance – his first in a year – dispelled Israeli and Arab media reports late last year that he had been demoted by Hezbollah’s Iranian sponsors and that control of the group’s military wing was given to his deputy. Hezbollah had denied the reports.