Israeli airstrikes continue in southern Lebanon

Israel continues its air strikes on a disputed border area near southern Lebanon, Lebanese police said on Friday.

Israeli warplanes flew over southern Lebanon and fired three mortar shells on the Ramtha area on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line drawn by the United Nations to mark the border between the two countries, police said.

There were no casualties reported.

Israel started its military operations in the area on Thursday, a day after an Israeli soldier was killed when Hezbollah fighters attacked the Israeli army in the Shebaa Farms area.

UN special representative Geir Pederson called Thursday for a halt to the Israeli air strikes in the area but also said that the Lebanese government should take an action against Hezbollah.

“The Israeli authorities (should) refrain from their air violations of the Blue Line,” Pederson said, referring to the border demarcated by the United Nations after Israel ended its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.

Pederson also “called upon the government of Lebanon to extend its control over all of its territory, to exert its monopoly on the use of force and to put an end to all attacks emanating from its territory.”

Anne Patterson, the acting U.S. ambassador, said that the UN statement was not as strong as the U.S wanted because it did not mention the UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

"The statement was weaker than we would have liked," Patterson said.

The United Nations says that the Sheeba Farms is Israeli-occupied Syrian land. But Lebanon and Syria say that the area is Lebanese territory.