Israeli Warplanes Release Heat Balloons Off Naqoura
Israeli fighter jets on Monday released missile-deflecting heat balloons off the southern town of Naqoura within Lebanon's territorial waters, state-run National News Agency reported.
Earlier, al-Jadeed television said the warplanes released around 10 balloons.
On March 18, Israeli warplanes dropped more than 30 heat balloons between Naqoura and Tyre within two hours.
On Sunday, Israeli warplanes overflew Beirut, the eastern town of Baalbek that borders Syria, and southern Lebanon at low altitude, prompting a call for a complaint with the United Nations.
President Michel Suleiman tasked caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with filing an urgent complaint with the U.N. over the overflights “which covered all Lebanese regions, including the capital Beirut,” said a terse statement.
The surge in overflights since January comes amid repeated warnings by Israel that the Syrian regime might transfer chemical weapons to Hizbullah.
Two air raids in Syria by Israeli warplanes last month destroyed missiles allegedly destined for Hizbullah. The attacks have sparked fears that the party could hit back.
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