Israel has increased its air reconnaissance over Lebanon.
Lebanese military sources said the Israel Air Force has increased
flights into Lebanon over the last few days. The sources said the latest
overflights appeared to be in retaliation for Hizbullah's unmanned aerial
vehicle mission into Israel on April 12.
On April 14, an Israeli surveillance aircraft flew throughout southern
Lebanon for six hours, the Lebanese Army said. A military statement said the
unidentified Israeli aircraft flew between the main port cities of Sidon and
Tyre, Middle East Newsline reported.
On the following day, an Israeli surveillance plane flew for three hours
over southern Lebanon. Neither Hizbullah nor the Lebanese Army responded.
Last week, the Mirsad-1 UAV was sent by Hizbullah on a reconnaissance
mission in northern Israel. The Mirsad, a variant of the
Iranian Abbabil UAV, spent at least 15 minutes in Israeli air space before
returning to Lebanon. The Israel Air Force failed to respond to the
Hizbullah flight.
On April 15, Israel's military captured a Palestinian infiltrator in the
Golan Heights. The military said gunman penetrated a border
fence with Syria and opened fire on an Israel Army post. No casualties were
reported.
"The Syrian, armed with a shotgun and dressed in a shirt emblazed with
the Palestinian flag, infiltrated the outpost and opened fire, aiming at the
outposts' gasoline tanks with the intent to cause them to explode," a
military statement said. "During his questioning the man stated that he is a
Fatah operative, and that his intention had been to abduct an officer from
the outpost and kidnap him to Syria."
