Lebanon critisises Israel over airspace breach

Israel's repeated violations of the Lebanese airspace "damages Lebanon's sovereignty and drags the region towards uncertainty," Lebanon's foreign minister said asIsrael used the Lebanese airspace tohit targets in Syria twice in three days with the aim of what the Jewish state said intercepting shipments of sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah. The international community needs to take responsibility against the violations, said Adnan Mansour, in a written statement, adding such violations would not help towards "establishing an environment of peace and security Israel wanted," and instead would escalate tensions further in the region. Lebanon authorities claim Israeli warplanes frequently violate the Lebanese airspace, flying low over villages and towns on the Israel–Lebanon border. Israeli fighter jets on Friday morning reportedly carried out an attack from within the Lebanese airspace against what Israeli officials said to be a shipment of weapons from Syria to be delivered to Hezbollah. Another strike in early hours on Sunday by Israeli military aircraft was alleged to target a military research center near Damascus.