Israeli public radio has announced that the country's security cabinet have decided not to launch further reprisals against Lebanon despite a new Hezbollah rocket strike on the north of the country. But it reserved the right to hit back at the appropriate moment, the radio added, quoting an unnamed senior official. The official was quoted as saying that Israel did not want to unleash a military escalation in Lebanon, following air attacks on power facilities in the wake of yesterday's Hezbollah rocket strike.
The worst Israeli-Lebanese violence in almost a year intensified this morning with Israeli air raids across Lebanon and more guerrilla rocket attacks on northern Israel. Israel launched the air raids in response to yesterday's rocket attacks by Hizbollah militants in which one Israeli soldier died and 26 civilians were injured. The exchanges have raised tensions along the border between the two countries as Israel prepares to pull its troops out of South Lebanon by July. The Israeli airstrikes hit Lebanese infrastructure targets, power stations and the main Beirut-Damascus highway.
The city of Tripoli in the north and parts of the capital Beirut were left without electricity. Israeli air force commanders said that the targets were chosen to avoid civilian casualties. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, has said that Israel will not tolerate rocket attacks. Senior generals have warned that there will be more airstrikes if the attacks continue.
Residents on Israel's northern border have been ordered to remain in their bomb shelters. Many are heading south over the weekend. Israel has made it clear that there will be a massive retaliation if Hizbollah or Palestinian groups attack Israel after the withdrawal from South Lebanon in July. Israel hopes that the latest airstrikes will press home the message, both to Lebanon and Syria.
