"…the Israeli army will not stop its flights in the region to stop the transfers of arms from Syria," said Ezra.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A few hours after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan blamed the Israeli army squarely for violating a UN-imposed truce that ended hostilities between Tel Aviv and the Lebanese resistance movement Hizbullah, Israel threatened Sunday, August 20, to carry out more such raids.

"As long as the Lebanese army and the international forces are not deployed (in south Lebanon), the Israeli army will not stop its flights in the region to stop the transfers of arms from Syria," Environmental Minister Gideon Ezra told public radio, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Israeli warplanes and helicopters bombed Saturday, August 19, roads leading to the village of Bodai, west of the ancient city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, and a power plant.

Helicopter-borne Israeli commandos in two vehicles were on their way to attack an office of senior Hizbullah official Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek in Bodai when they were spotted and ambushed by resistance fighters.

One commando was killed and two others injured before other forces pulled out under the cover of fierce air strikes.

Israel claimed the raid was aimed at halting weapons smugglings.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon with the deployment of the Lebanese army and a strengthened UN peacekeeping force of up to 15,000 troops.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora blasted the Israeli operation as a "blatant violation" of the truce, which took effect on Monday, August 14, to end a conflict that has claimed close to 1,300 Lebanese, mostly civilians.

Lebanon warned it might suspend the deployment of army troops in the south, which began on Thursday, August 17, if the United Nations failed to ensure Israel honored the resolution.

Violation

Annan said he is "deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities." (Reuters)

Annan said the Israeli operation was a violation of the ceasefire deal.

"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701," a statement issued by Annan's spokesman said.

"The Secretary-General further calls on all parties to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701."

A visiting UN envoy in Lebanon has warned that such incidents threatened to spark war again and scare off states which may help boost a UN peacekeeping force.

"We may slip into war again, this is why incidents such as what happened yesterday are not very helpful," Terje Roed-Larsen said in an interview with Lebanon's leading An-Nahar newspaper.

"The incident does not help maintain the fragile ceasefire and will not encourage potential participants in the new international forces to contribute with soldiers," he added.

The UN has been urging countries, particularly Europeans, to send troops, but most governments want more details on the precise mandate of the force before contributing.

"We may slip into war again," said Larsen. (Reuters)

The Israeli raid came hours before French troops began deploying in Lebanon to reinforce the UN peacekeepers.

France has agreed to contribute 200 troops, far short of the major commanding role that many had foreseen for Lebanon's former colonial power.

Some 150 French troops departed France on Sunday bound for Lebanon to join an advance element of 50 French troops who landed there on Saturday.

Israel has made clear it would not accept countries with which it has no diplomatic relations — such as Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia.

The United Nations wants to field an advance force of 3,500 troops by September 2 and hopes to have the entire complement in place by November 4.