BEIRUT, 12 October 2004 — Israeli warplanes flew over much of Lebanon yesterday, drawing anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese army, Lebanon’s military said. Israel regularly makes overflights of Lebanon but usually on a smaller scale than yesterday.
“Ten Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace this morning starting at around 10.30 a.m. (0730 GMT) ... where they were resisted with anti-aircraft fire,” an army statement said. The head of the resistance group said the overflights seemed to have escalated in the wake of a UN Security Council resolution which criticized Syria’s powerful role in Lebanon.
“Not reconnaissance planes but warplanes, constant escalation, constant incitement, constant violations of (Lebanese) airspace in a provocative manner,” Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said at the opening of a new hospital wing in Beirut. “We in the resistance have behaved responsibly ... but the way we behave today may not be the way we behave tomorrow.”
