Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon
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Israeli soldier wounded in Monday's attack is prepared for transfer to another hospital.
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli warplanes Tuesday pounded two Hezbollah bases in the central and western areas of southern Lebanon, a day after the death of an Israeli soldier along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli security sources said.
"Israel considers Syria directly responsible for any terror activity emanating from Lebanon, and will not tolerate the current situation whereby the terror organizations attempt to escalate the situation," the Israel Defense Forces said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Israel said "terror activity" is carried out from the bases on northern Israel.
One Israeli soldier was killed and another wounded Monday when Hezbollah guerrillas fired an anti-tank missile at a military tractor sent to the Israel-Lebanon border to remove explosives planted by Hezbollah on January 4, the Israeli Army said.
An Israeli commander Tuesday said a bulldozer crossed the border a few meters to maneuver the machine that was used to remove the explosives.
The decision to launch airstrikes came after a four-hour meeting among Israeli defense officials.
Tuesday's attack by Israel comes three months after Israel launched an airstrike on Syria, destroying a terror training base that had been used by "many terror organizations," including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Israel Defense Forces said. A spokesman for the group denied there were any Palestinian Islamic Jihad training bases in Syria.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a militant group dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel.
The attack on Syria came hours after a deadly terror bombing October 4 at Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed 19 people.
-- CNN correspondents John Vause and Brent Sadler contributed to this report.
