1st LD Writethru: Israeli forces, Hezbollah exchange fire as tension along Lebanese border escalates

BEIRUT, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched a series of airstrikes on towns and villages in southern and eastern Lebanon on Saturday afternoon, prompting Hezbollah's retaliatory bombing at northern Israel, according to Lebanese military sources.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes carried out about 50 airstrikes in less than half an hour, more intense than previous airstrikes,