Sources on Wednesday told NOW Lebanon that Israel had intensified military activities in areas along its border with southern Lebanon, particularly in the western sector, including increasing patrols and a raising the personnel presence at positions along the border.

Earlier on Wednesday, a security official said six Israeli jets flew over south Lebanon and broke the sound barrier twice over the port city of Sur on Wednesday.

"Six Israeli warplanes flew all over southern Lebanon and the city of Sur at low altitude for more than an hour and broke the sound barrier twice over Sur," the official told AFP.

The overflight prompted scared shoppers to flee Sur's main market, an AFP correspondent said.

Residents also poured on to the streets nervously watching the skies, little more than two years after the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah devastated much of southern Lebanon, the correspondent added.

There has been a mounting war of words between Hezbollah and Israel in recent weeks. , with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowing to "destroy Israel" in any new conflict.

For their part Israeli cabinet ministers have warned that Lebanon's civilian infrastructure could be targeted in any new war, now that the Hezbollah-led opposition has secured veto powers in a national unity government.

Israeli jets have repeatedly overflown Lebanon in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The United Nations has called on Israel to stop violating Lebanese air space. It says the overflights undermine the credibility of UN peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon and compromise efforts to bring stability to the region.

-NOW Staff/AFP