Lebanese Army Fired on Israeli Warplanes

Lebanon's army said it fired on two Israeli fighter jets late yesterday night after they violated its airspace in the south-eastern part of the country.

The Israeli planes were met with anti-aircraft fire after they flew at low altitudes between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., the army said in a statement on its website.

Lebanon's government, the Shiite Hezbollah movement and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, also known as Unifil, have repeatedly cited Israel's air surveillance flights over Lebanon as a violation of UN resolutions and the country's sovereignty. The peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon is monitoring a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah after a month-long conflict in 2006.

UN soldiers have been in southern Lebanon since 1978, when Unifil was created to verify an Israeli withdrawal. Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982 and withdrew in 2000. The force was enlarged after the 2006 conflict.