Lebanon's Syrian-backed Hizbollah guerrillas attacked Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms border zone today, witnesses said.
They said Hizbollah fighters fired anti-tank missiles, mortar rounds and machineguns at Israeli troops in the Shebaa Farms, a 25 square kilometre patch of uninhabited land by the Lebanese border and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel responded by shelling locations near the Lebanese border town of Kfar Shouba. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Hizbollah has attacked Israeli positions almost daily during Israel's military offensive in the West Bank, drawing Israeli air strikes and artilery fire as well as hints of broader retaliation against the group's Syrian patrons.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Syria to rein the group in during a visit to Israel yesterday, saying the attacks could have devastating consequences for the region.