US urges Israel border restraint

Tensions have escalated on the border between Israel and Lebanon

Diplomatic efforts are under way to prevent an escalation of violence on Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

This follows raids by Israeli aircraft after a teenager was killed in northern Israel on Sunday by shellfire blamed on Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

Israel has warned of retaliation if such actions continue, but says for the moment it is relying on diplomacy to defuse the tension.

Lebanon has called on the United Nations Security Council to stop what it terms Israel's "aggression".

The US said it had been in contact with Israel, Lebanon and Syria - which along with Iran backs the militant Shia group - to appeal for restraint.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told reporters the US had urged the parties to "exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid further escalation."

Israel's 'deterrent factor'

On Sunday evening, Israeli aircraft attacked an anti-aircraft battery in southern Lebanon. Hours later warplanes swooped low over the Lebanese capital Beirut, shaking buildings and setting off car alarms.

Israel carried out the raids after a 16-year-old boy, Haviv Dadon, was killed and four others wounded in the town of Shlomi, near the border with Lebanon. .

Hezbollah was accused of deliberately firing into the town, although the group said it had been targeting Israeli jets violating Lebanese airspace.

Israel has complained to the UN, calling the attack a "clear provocation by Hezbollah" and seeking pressure be put on Syria to restrain the militant Shia group.

"If this does not help and Israel has to step up the pressure in the field, the military option exists to restore a deterrent factor and remind Syria and Hezbollah just what Israel is capable of militarily," said Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim.

'Aerial terrorism'

Meanwhile, Lebanon called in envoys from the five permanent UN Security Council members to press for an end to Israeli "aggressions".

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud condemned what he called, "Israel's aerial terrorism... part of Israel's moves aiming to destabilise the region."

He said overflights were an almost daily occurrence, despite repeated appeals by the UN for Israel to stop.

Beirut blast kills Hezbollah man US warns over clashes

The BBC's Chris Morris in Jerusalem says that keeping tensions simmering along the border rather than all-out war may suit both sides for the moment.

For Israel - whose northern tourist economy would be destroyed by a full-scale confrontation - it may mean the Americans will lean harder on Syria, our correspondent says.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah leaders can strengthen their own support base in southern Lebanon without having to take on a costly military exchange, he says.

Tensions have risen sharply in the disputed border area in recent days after a sustained period of relative calm.

Friday saw clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in the Shebaa Farms area, further east.

Last week, a Hezbollah fighter was killed in a car bomb in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut - an incident the group blamed on Israel and vowed to avenge.

Haviv Dadon is the first Israeli civilian to be killed since Israeli forces pulled out of southern Lebanon three years ago, ending more than 20 years of occupation.