BEIRUT, March 7: Israeli warplanes flew over the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, according to a Lebanese official, a day after an attack by a Palestinian gunman killed eight Jewish seminary students in Jerusalem, raising tensions in the volatile region.

“Two Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace and flew over Beirut briefly before leaving the area,” a senior security official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements, said the planes flew at a “medium altitude.”

The official did not elaborate and the Israeli army said it knows of no activity in Beirut.

Later Friday, the Lebanese army confirmed the fly overs. It is said in a statement that “two enemy Israeli warplanes” violated Lebanese airspace in the southern city of Tyre and flew over Beirut and the port town of Jounieh, north of the capital, before heading back to the “occupied territories”.—AP