Israeli warplanes attack in southern Lebanon ( 2003-09-04 09:50) (Agencies)
Israeli warplanes attacked the
outskirts of a south Lebanese village on Wednesday after Hizbollah gunners fired
anti-aircraft rounds at Israeli jets in Lebanese airspace, Lebanese and Israeli
security sources said.
"Israeli planes attacked the western part of Lebanon from which a cannon
belonging to Hizbollah fired shells which hit the village of Shumra in western
Galilee," Israeli army spokesperson Sharon Feingold said. "The planes destroyed
the cannons."
The planes struck the outskirts of Telal al-Bayad, just north of the Lebanese
border town of Naqoura, Lebanese security sources said.
Hizbollah confirmed that the Israelis hit one of its positions but said none
of its fighters there was harmed.
"The Islamic Resistance reserves the right of response to this aggression and
knows well how to choose the appropriate time and place for the response," a
Hizbollah official told Reuters.
"The Islamic Resistance considers the raids as acts of aggression," he added.
The strike, the second in less than a month, came hours after Hizbollah
fighters, who are backed by Syria and Iran, fired anti-aircraft rounds at
Israeli jets flying in Lebanese skies.
On August 10, Israeli troops and jets blasted the outskirts of Lebanese
villages after a Hizbollah anti-aircraft shell killed an Israeli teenager in
northern Israel.
The death was the first since the Jewish state withdrew its troops from
southern Lebanon in May 2000 after a 22-year occupation under pressure from
Hizbollah guerrillas.
Since the withdrawal, Israeli planes have regularly flown into Lebanese
skies, drawing Hizbollah barrages.
The United Nations, which has repeatedly warned that Israeli overflights
could escalate into a more serious conflict, views both the flights and
Hizbollah's reaction as violations of the terms of Israel's pullout.
Lalit Tewari, the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon,
expressed "deep concern" over Wednesday's raid and said UNIFIL would follow up
the matter closely.
Tensions surged between Hizbollah and Israel after Hizbollah chief Sheikh
Hassan Nasrallah threatened late last month to kidnap more Israelis unless there
was progress on stalled prisoner swap talks.
But Israel late last month handed over the bodies of two Hizbollah members
who died fighting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, in what analysts said
could be a precursor to a prisoner exchange.
