The inconclusive results for Israel of the monthlong war it fought in the summer of 2006 against Lebanon's militant Shi'ite Hizballah meant that another confrontation was probably just a matter of time. And with the February 12 assassination in Damascus of a senior Hizballah commander continuing to roil the waters of the Middle East, that much-anticipated second round could be drawing nearer.

Hizballah has vowed revenge for the car bomb killing of Imad Mughniyah, and Israel is taking the threat seriously. Israel has placed its army on alert and reinforced its presence along the northern border with Lebanon. Patriot anti-missile batteries have been deployed near Haifa, Israel's second-largest city, 40 kilometers south of the Lebanese border. Even airlines flying into Israel have been instructed to ensure that all passengers are seated half an hour before landing to protect against a 9/11-style hijacking and aerial attack.  

A French peacekeeper deployed with the U.N. force in Lebanon was killed in an explosion of ordinance left over from last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah in the country's south.

In Paris, French Defense Minister Herve Morin praised the soldier's "sacrifice for a noble cause, restoring peace in a country that has suffered from years of war." The victim was 39 years old, according to the French defense ministry.

The incident occurred as a demining team from the U.N. peacekeeping force was clearing unexploded shells in a valley south of the village of Shama, near the town of Naqoura and close to the Lebanese border with Israel.

The peacekeeper died when the leftover ordnance exploded, said Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL.