Israeli Warplanes Raid South Lebanon

Israeli public radio said the raids attacked two Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon in response to the killing of one Israeli soldier and injuring of two others in Monday operation, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

It was not immediately known if there were any casualties in the raids which AFP correspondents said hit deep inside the south. The Israeli army confirmed the attack.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz accused Hezbollah and Syria of "deliberate provocation" the Israeli radio said.

However, Lebanon’s President Emile Lahud said Tuesday that it was the Israeli bulldozer which triggered the tensions after the investigation of the international forces in south Lebanon had proved that the tractor was indeed inside Lebanese territories.

"This constitutes a clear violation of the Blue Line," he said, referring to the demarcation line marked out by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) when Israel was forced by the Lebanese resistance to end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in May 2000.
The United Nations confirmed its investigations had found that the Israeli military bulldozer was "violating" Lebanese territory at the time.

"After investigation, UNIFIL can confirm that the Israeli bulldozer was on the Lebanese side when it was hit," said UNIFL Spokesman Milos Strugar.

"It was violating the Blue Line," he asserted to AFP.

It is the worst flare-up on the frontier since an Israeli air raid on an alleged Palestinian base in Syria last October, the first attack on Syrian soil in three decades.

Observers, however, see it unlikely neither side may resort to escalation.