Guerrilla Assaults Continue Against Israelis in Lebanon

The Israeli army came under attack three times in south Lebanon on Friday. The soldiers escaped harm but returned fire and reportedly killed a Lebanese.

Meantime, a general strike, called to protest government failure to control inflation and currency depreciation, closed down West Beirut. Schools, businesses, banks and restaurants shut down. The strike, called by consumer and labor groups, was endorsed by Muslim and Druze militias but not by the Lebanese Forces, the Christian militia.

Israeli military sources said that a Lebanese man was killed near Deir Mimas village, about one mile north of the Israeli border, when Israeli soldiers shot back after being sprayed with small arms. Two subsequent attacks on Israeli forces occurred in villages near Tyre.

The military sources said no Israeli soldiers were hit in any of the assaults.

Israeli troops maintained a siege of the village of Aarab Salim for a third day. It is one of the southern Lebanon villages that they have been raiding since Wednesday as part of a clampdown on guerrilla attacks.