KFAR SHOUBA (Lebanon), April 26: Hezbollah fighters attacked Israeli troops in the disputed Shebaa Farms border zone on Friday, injuring three soldiers and breaking a two-week lull in the area.

“The Hezbollah organization once again struck Israeli army position at Mount Dov (Shebaa Farms) with anti-tank rockets and mortars this evening,” a statement by the army said, adding a fourth Israeli soldier was treated for smoke inhalation.

The Israeli army responded by shelling the edges of Lebanese villages facing Shebaa Farms, farmland occupied by Israel in 1967 that Hezbollah seeks to liberate.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the Israeli shelling. US Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Lebanon and Syria on April 15 to warn both countries against letting Hezbollah attack Israeli targets.

Hezbollah attacked Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms almost daily during the first two weeks of Israel’s military assault on West Bank towns, drawing Israeli threats of reprisal.

“The Israeli army spokesman reiterates that the governments of Syria and Lebanon bear direct responsibility for the attempt to escalate (tensions),” the army statement said.

Beirut and Damascus say the Shebaa Farms area is Lebanese soil. The United Nations calls it Syrian land occupied by Israel, which twice in 2001 launched air strikes on Syrian military positions in Lebanon to retaliate for attacks in the zone.—Reuters