Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire

A border escalation would be "very serious", says the UN

Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah guerrillas have exchanged fire for a second day, amid heightened tensions along Israel's northern border.

Lebanese security officials reported no casualties, and the exchange was described as "very limited and restrained," by Timur Goksel, the spokesman of a UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

The Shebaa area has been a flashpoint since Israel pulled out of Lebanon

On Tuesday Israeli warplanes attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in an apparent retaliation for attacks on Israeli army positions in the disputed Shebaa area.

In an apparently unrelated development, Syria has agreed to redeploy its approximately 20,000 troops stationed in Lebanon to areas near the Lebanon-Syria border.

"An agreement has been reached on practical steps to redeploy units of the brother Syrian army to complete the Taif accord... and to be carried out within one week," said a Lebanese army statement.

The 1989 Taif accord, reached towards the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, stipulated that Syrian forces would pull back towards the Syria-Lebanon border as the Lebanese Government got back on its feet after the war.

Israel warns Syria and Lebanon

Israel on Tuesday demanded that the United Nations take action to prevent new guerrilla attacks.

A foreign ministry spokesman warned that Israel was effectively putting Syria and Lebanon - which back Hezbollah - on notice that it would act against border provocations.

A Lebanese woman was wounded in Israel's attack

Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon nearly two years ago, after two decades of occupation.

The UN has endorsed Israel's withdrawal as complete. However Lebanon, Hezbollah and the Syrians claim the Shebaa area is Lebanese territory.

Lebanese officials said Israeli jets fired at least three rockets on targets south of Chouba village late on Tuesday after Hezbollah guerrillas fired mortar rounds and rockets at Israeli positions in the Shebaa area close to the Lebanese-Syrian border.

The clashes halted after about 80 minutes.

At least one woman was wounded by a rocket blast in Chouba.

Hezbollah said one of its fighters had been killed "while carrying out his task in the framework of holy war".

Hezbollah 'deploying on border'

At the UN in New York, the Israeli Government delivered a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan, warning that recent attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets could have "alarming consequences on the stability of the region."

The letter from Foreign Minister Shimon Peres urged Mr Annan to intervene immediately and persuade the governments of Lebanon and Syria to take steps to prevent violations of Israel's northern border.

Israel says that in the past two weeks, armed groups have launched several attacks on Israeli military and civilian targets.

Mr Peres also said there is growing evidence that in recent days Hezbollah have started deploying armed men along the "blue line" monitored by the UN separating Israel and southern Lebanon.