LEBANESE President Michel Aoun warned of a “serious and escalating violation” by Israel yesterday after missile strikes targeted villages in the south of his country.

“Israel’s use of its air force to target Lebanese villages is the first of its kind since 2006,” he said in a statement, adding that the aerial assault indicated “aggressive intentions that coincide with the continuous threat against Lebanon and its sovereignty.”

He branded the attack “a flagrant and dangerous violation of [United Nations] security council [resolution] 1710 and a direct threat to security and stability in the south.”