Lebanon front with Israel escalates, FM slams Israeli threats

BEIRUT, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said Wednesday that the continued Israeli threats to destroy Lebanon constitute a flagrant violation of UN Resolution 1701.

Bou Habib made the remarks during his meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka in Beirut, as confrontations on the Lebanon-Israel border continued on Wednesday, the National News Agency reported.

Lebanese military sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that Israeli drones and warplanes carried out airstrikes on 25 villages and towns in southern Lebanon with explosives and incendiary shells, destroying 15 houses and causing fires in forests and orchards.

The sources added that three batches of missiles were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel, where they met with Israel's Iron Dome missiles, and one of the Patriot missiles exploded in the airspace of the Marjeyoun plain in southeastern Lebanon.

For its part, Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based armed group, said its fighters attacked Israeli sites in Ruwaisat Al-Alam, Al-Samaqa, Zibdin, al-Marj, Birkat Risha, Misgav Am, and Al-Motella along the border.

The Lebanon-Israel border has witnessed increased tensions for over a month after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israeli military sites on Oct. 8 in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel the previous day, prompting the Israeli forces to respond by firing heavy artillery toward several areas in southeastern Lebanon.