Israelis Batter South Lebanon

Israeli warplanes resumed their attacks against southern Lebanon on Tuesday, firing five missiles at mountain targets on the edge of an Israeli-occupied zone, Lebanese security officials said.

The attacks came a day after Israeli warplanes staged one of the most concentrated air raids against guerrillas in years.

Israeli jets fired at least five missiles Tuesday in two sorties over suspected guerrilla targets on the hills of Jabal al-Daher, the Lebanese officials said on condition of anonymity. An Israeli army spokesman in Jerusalem confirmed the air attack and said the jets returned safely to base.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas fighting Israeli occupation forces are believed to maintain bases in the area, some nine miles southwest of the town of Rashaya. There was no immediate word on casualties.

On Monday, Israeli warplanes unleashed more than two dozen missiles on guerrilla targets in mountains bordering the occupied zone in southern Lebanon. The day-long air strikes were one of the most concentrated Israeli bombardments of a region in Lebanon since a 1996 bombing blitz.

The attacks appear to be part of a continuing campaign by Israel in recent weeks to use its aerial advantage to protect and limit casualties among its ground troops.

Hezbollah and other groups are fighting to oust 1,500 Israeli soldiers and the 2,500 members of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army militia from the occupied zone. Israel argues that the zone, set up in 1985, is necessary to protect its northern towns from cross-border guerrilla incursions.