One dead, five injured in Hezbollah shelling in Israel

SHLOMI, Israel -- Israeli warplanes attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon on Sunday, hours after the group shelled northern Israel, killing a 16-year-old and wounding five others, including an infant.\nThe boy was the first civilian killed in an attack by the guerrilla group in the area since Israel pulled out of southern Lebanon in May 2000, officials said.\nThe attacks came amid an increase in border violence following months of calm. Earlier Sunday, Israel's foreign minister demanded that Syria and Lebanon restrain Hezbollah, or "we will have no choice but to defend ourselves."\nAlso Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet that the U.S.-backed plan for Palestinian statehood would not move ahead until the Palestinians carry out their pledge to dismantle militant groups. The military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, said later that Palestinian security forces weren't doing enough to stop attacks.\nPalestinian legislator Saeb Erekat said it was Israel, rather than the Palestinians, which was failing to live up to its commitments.\nLebanese security officials said Israeli warplanes fired at least one missile near the village of Teir Harfa, about two miles from the Lebanese-Israeli border. There was no immediate word on casualties.\nIsraeli jets hit Hezbollah artillery positions that fired anti-tank shells at the northern town of Shlomi earlier Sunday, said a senior security official in Israel, speaking on condition of anonymity.\nThe Hezbollah attack killed a 16-year-old boy, said Ziv Farber, a spokesman for the hospital in nearby Nahariya. He said five others were lightly injured by shrapnel, including a mother and her 9-month-old son. The baby suffered scratches on his face, Farber said.\nVideo footage from Shlomi showed paramedics treating victims on the ground and patches of blood on a concrete stairway. Israel Radio identified the teenager who was killed as Haviv Dadon.\nMayor Gavriel Naaman said one shell exploded near a preschool and another hit near a shopping center. He ordered residents to remain in their homes in case of other strikes.\nThe boy's death was the first of a civilian in such an attack along the northern Israeli border since June 24, 1999, when a Katyusha rocket fired by Hezbollah guerrillas struck the city hall of Kiryat Shemona and killed two men.\nHezbollah said it had fired anti-aircraft shells Sunday at Israeli fighter jets flying over southern Lebanon, but Israeli security officials denied aircraft were in the area at the time.\nThe Lebanese militant group, which is backed by Iran and Syria, routinely responds to Israeli air force flights over Lebanon with anti-aircraft fire, but tensions have worsened in recent days.\nA senior military source said Israel's inner security Cabinet would meet to discuss a further military response and that more strikes could be expected.\nRaanan Gissin, an aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israel would choose "the time, the place and the method of our response."\n"Israel has no intention of escalation," he said, but added: "Israel will not tolerate any escalation of this sort that causes the death of its citizens along the border."\nOn Friday, Israel and Hezbollah exchanged artillery fire over a disputed area near the confluence of the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders -- the first such exchange in eight months.\nHezbollah said the shelling was in retaliation for the Aug. 2 killing of Hezbollah security official Ali Hussein Saleh by a bomb in his car south of Beirut. Hezbollah blamed Israel for his death. Israel refused to comment.