More Raids Threatened Until Un Peacekeepers Take Control

Israel warned yesterday that it would continue covert raids in Lebanon despite a UN-brokered ceasefire, insisting it had the right to stop Hizbullah rearming in advance of the arrival of UN peacekeepers.

One Israeli soldier and three Hizbullah fighters were killed during an Israeli raid in the Hizbullah heartland of the Bekaa valley on Saturday. Israel claimed the raid was to stop the supply of arms to Hizbullah and did not breach the UN ceasefire resolution. However, Lebanese sources said the raid was a failed attempt to kidnap a senior Hizbullah cleric and risked plunging the region back into war.

In a swift rebuke to Israel, Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, said its actions were in violation of the truce and spoke of his "deep concern". The Israeli defence minister, Amir Peretz, told fellow ministers at a cabinet meeting yesterday that Israel must prepare for "the second round of war" with Hizbullah, deepening Lebanese fears of renewed fighting.

The raid began in the early hours of Saturday when two Sikorsky helicopters landed near the village of Boudai in the Bekaa valley with around 100 soldiers from the Sayeret Matkal, Israel's equivalent of the SAS, and two Humvee jeeps.

The soldiers, dressed in the uniform of the Lebanese army, advanced to the home of Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, a member of the Hizbullah governing council. According to reports the soldiers searched and found intelligence material relating to the transportation of arms from Syria to Hizbullah. As the soldiers returned to the helicopters they ran into a group of Hizbullah fighters. A 30-minute gun battle broke out and Israeli Apache helicopters were send to provide cover for the ground troops' escape.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, said the incursions could continue until the Lebanese army and a new UN force took control of the Lebanese-Syrian border. "In the interim, of course, we can't have a situation where endless amounts of weaponry arrive for Hizbullah, so we are forced to act in response to this violation," he told the Associated Press.

Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister, described the raid as a "naked violation" of the UN truce, and officials threatened to halt the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.

Ghaleb Abu Zeinab, a member of Hizbullah's politburo, warned that Israel's actions expressed "aggressive intentions". "One could only imagine what the response from the international community would have been if the resistance had done what the Israelis did. This is a very dangerous situation which could lead to dangerous developments that the region cannot handle," he told the Guardian.

Elias Murr, the Lebanese defence minister, said he intended to police all aspects of the ceasefire aggressively. Anyone arrested for violating the truce would be "decisively dealt with", he said.

The news of the raid comes as recriminations about the conduct of the war continue in Israel. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said he would appoint a panel to review the performance of the army and the government. Amir Peretz, the defence minister, has already appointed his own panel of investigators to assess the performance of his ministry.

In Ramallah, Israeli forces arrested Nasser Shaer, the Palestinian deputy prime minister, and Mahmoud al-Ramahi, secretary general of the parliament. Israel has detained more than 30 Hamas parliamentarians and officials since the capture of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, by Palestinian militants in June.