The Israeli army Monday morning fired three shells on southern Lebanon from the disputed Shebaa farms area, Lebanese police said.
The Israeli shells were fired from an observation post on the western side of Mount Hermon and exploded in an uninhabited mountainous region two kilometers (1.3 miles) from the Lebanese border.
Israel warned Lebanon and Syria of firm retaliation if the Shiite Lebanese militia Hizbollah led one more attack on its troops in the Shebaa farms, an area Israel claimed from Syria in 1967 and on which Beirut recently laid claim.
Since the May 24 withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation, Hizbollah has been leading military operations against the Shebaa farms.
On November 26, an Israeli soldier died in a bomb attack led by the Shiite militia, and six weeks earlier, three more were captured in the Shebaa farms.
The Israeli air force flew over the disputed area Monday, Lebanese police added.
Israeli fighter-bombers have frequently violated Lebanese air space since the May 24 pull-out, and especially since the capture of the soldiers.
The daily al-Mostaqbal reported Monday that Hizbollah had refused to exchange information on the three captives for bodies of its fighters killed during the Israeli occupation.
Hizbollah would only supply news of their condition against the release of detainees from Israeli jails, it said -- SHEBAA (AFP)
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