DHAYRA: Many residents of south Lebanon who just days ago were preparing to harvest their olives have instead fled for fear of another ruinous conflict with Israel after the deadliest day of cross-border violence since the 2006 war.
On the Israeli side of the frontier, villages appeared deserted on Tuesday - a possible result of residents sheltering indoors rather than evacuating. The Israeli military said it had not issued them with any orders to leave. Some people, however, said they were relocating southward as a temporary precaution.
Israeli tanks were deployed in the far northern border town of Metulla as rain came down near the heavily fortified border.
Six people were killed on Monday - three Hezbollah members, an Israeli officer, and two Palestinians who touched off the violence.
Tensions have spiked since Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
Violence at the Lebanese-Israeli frontier began when militants from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which is fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza, slipped across the frontier from Lebanon into Israel.
— Reuters
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