Al-Qaeda won't stand idly by as Israeli shells "burn our brothers" in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the militant group's second-in-command warned Thursday.

In a video message broadcast by Arab television network Al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahri said the group that organized the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States now sees "all the world as a battlefield open in front of us."

Al-Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, seen in this image from a video broadcast by Al-Jazeera, said he sees 'all the world as a battlefield.'
(Associated Press)

Dressed in a robe and white turban, the Egyptian-born physician sat in front of a picture of the burning World Trade Center as he spoke.

The struggle against Israel by Hezbollah and Palestinian forces will not be ended with "ceasefires or agreements," he said.

"It is a jihad for God's sake and will last until [our] religion prevails. We will attack everywhere."

Israel launched its most recent campaign against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip after two Israeli soldiers were killed and one kidnapped during a cross-border raid in late June.

In response, Israel moved tanks and troops to the border and fired on a number of Palestinian targets, including offices used by the governing Hamas party and a power station. Palestinian militants have responded by firing rockets into Israeli communities.

Israel launched air strikes against Hezbollah in early July, after the Lebanese-based militant group attacked an Israeli army post, killing eight soldiers and capturing two others.

Hezbollah has responded with rocket attacks on northern Israeli communities.

Threat extended to 'crusader coalition'

In his video, al-Zawahri also threatened countries that he said are aiding Israel in its current offensive.

"The shells and rockets ripping apart Muslim bodies in Gaza and Lebanon are not only Israeli [weapons], but are supplied by all the countries of the crusader coalition," he said. "Therefore, every participant in the crime will pay the price."

In January, al-Zawahri was the target of an American air strike in the Pakistani village of Damadola. Seventeen people were killed in the attack, which triggered mass protests in Islamabad.

Al-Zawahri later appeared in a videotape mocking the American forces for failing to kill him and calling U.S. President George W. Bush a "butcher."

U.S. officials believe al-Zawahri and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden are hiding in the mountainous region along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

With files from the Associated Press.