Lebanon gives warning after Israeli raid
By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israeli commandos raided a Hezbollah stronghold deep inside Lebanon Saturday, sparking a fierce clash with militants that left one Israeli soldier dead. Lebanon called the raid a “flagrant violation” of the U.N.-brokered cease-fire, while Israel](http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Israel) said it was aimed at disrupting arms smuggling from Iran](http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Iran) and Syria](http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Syria).
“If there are no clear answers forthcoming on this issue, I might be forced to recommend to the Cabinet early next week the halt of the army deployment in the south,” Murr told reporters after a meeting with U.N. representatives.
Witnesses also said Israeli missiles destroyed a bridge during the raid in what would be the first such airstrike since the cease-fire took effect on Monday, ending 34 days of warfare between the two sides.
The fighting did not appear to be escalating, but it highlighted the fragility of the 6-day-old truce as the United Nations pleaded for nations to contribute to an international peacekeeping force due to patrol southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military said such operations would continue until “an effective monitoring unit” was in place to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its arsenal.
“If the Syrians and Iran continue to arm Hezbollah in violation of the (U.N. cease-fire) resolution, Israel is entitled to act to defend the principle of the arms embargo,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. “Once the Lebanese army and the international forces are active … then such Israeli activity will become superfluous.”
Now if Hezbollah had done any act of violence all guns would have started firing already from around, but conitnuous mocking of UN by Israel and its violent behavior are all acceptable for many corners in the world.