BEIRUT — Twelve Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace in less than 24 hours, flying low in several sorties over villages in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese military said Wednesday. A Lebanese security official said there has been increased Israeli activity over Lebanese airspace in the past week. The flights come amid Israeli concerns about the civil war in neighboring Syria and fears that weapons could reach hostile groups in Syria or the militant anti-Israel Hezbollah group in Lebanon. A Lebanese army statement said the last of the sorties took place at 2 a.m. local time Wednesday. It said four warplanes which flew in over the southernmost coastal town of Naqoura hovered for several hours over villages in south Lebanon before leaving its airspace. — AP
