KFAR CHOUBA, Lebanon — After a sharp escalation in guerrilla attacks and Israeli airstrikes, U.S. and U.N. diplomats have warned Israel and Lebanon of the dangers of reviving the war along their border.
Israel on Monday called up additional reserve units to serve near the border. A day earlier, cross-border fighting between the Israeli army and Lebanese guerrillas injured seven soldiers and sent residents of northern Israel into bomb shelters for an hour.
Violence along a front that has been largely dormant since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 has erupted as Israeli soldiers battle Palestinians on the West Bank.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council in a statement Sunday night expressed concern at violations of the U.N.-drawn boundary between Israel and Lebanon, which Syria and Lebanon don't recognize.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe accused Israel of "terrorizing" the Lebanese people by repeatedly violating their airspace, which he said was "provoking the resistance." He called on Israel to withdraw from the Chebaa Farms area, from which Israel did not withdraw when it pulled out of Lebanon.
The United Nations pronounced Israel's 18-year occupation of Lebanon over, saying Chebaa Farms was Syrian, not Lebanese, and that disputes over it should be worked out between Syria and Israel. Lebanon, backed by Syria, considers Chebaa Farms its territory, and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, who fought against Israeli forces during the occupation, have vowed to liberate it.
In a fifth straight day of clashes, Hezbollah guerrillas opened fire on several Israeli outposts in Chebaa Farms, which is along Lebanon's border with the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Smoke billowed from at least one Israeli outpost. Israeli jets and artillery retaliated against suspected Hezbollah hideouts.
In Jerusalem, an Israeli army statement said a number of rockets were fired at Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, targeting villages and army bases. Four women soldiers were injured, one seriously, in the village of Avivim, rescue workers said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon blamed Iran and Syria, Hezbollah's backers, and said Israel gave warnings through diplomatic channels. "We made clear that this ould perhaps lead to a very big outbreak."
The Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, warned that Israel is prepared to hit back at the centers of power in Lebanon.
Israel has in the past targeted Syrian army positions and Lebanese infrastructure. Syria is the main power-broker in Lebanon and has about 25,000 troops stationed here.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's representative in Lebanon appealed for an end to "violations," urging the Lebanese government to act and Israel to show restraint.
"No reasonable person can believe that this can continue without a substantial danger. We are in a very dangerous moment in a very tense region," Staffan de Mistura told a news conference in Beirut.