Israel Warplanes Hit Hezbollah Positions

10/08/2003| IslamWeb

Israeli warplanes attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon on Sunday, hours after the group shelled northern Israel, killing one Jewish settler and lightly wounding five others. The attacks came amid an increase in border violence following months of calm. Earlier Sunday, Israel's foreign minister demanded that Syria and Lebanon restrain Hezbollah, or "we will have no choice but to defend ourselves." Lebanese security officials said Israeli warplanes fired at least one missile near the village of Teir Harfa, about two miles from the Lebanese-Israeli border. There was no immediate word on casualties. Video footage from Shlomi showed paramedics treating victims on the ground and patches of blood on a concrete stairway. Mayor Gavriel Naaman said one shell exploded near a preschool and another hit near a shopping center. He ordered residents to remain in their homes in case of other strikes. Hezbollah said it had fired anti-aircraft shells Sunday at Israeli fighter jets flying over southern Lebanon, but Israeli security officials denied aircrafts were in the area at the time. The Lebanese Shiite group, which is backed by Iran and Syria, routinely responds to Israeli air force flights over Lebanon with anti-aircraft fire, but tensions have worsened in recent days. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A Lebanese villager Ahmad Hajar, carrying his two nephews runs away from the Israeli artillery shells in Kfar Chouba village south of Lebanon on Friday Aug. 8, 2003.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)