"Following the successive defeats in the field at the hands of the resistance men in Berket Jabbour and Hasbayya and the liberation of the town of Arnoun by Lebanese students, the "Israeli" enemy has escalated its aggressions against Lebanese liberated areas and civilian residents. "Israeli" suppressive measures victimized several villages and towns in the occupied zone".
"After the failure of the "Israeli" maneuver to contain the Arnoun defeat and turn the town into a barricade in the face of Resistance men as a new established fact, the enemy entered the town and dynamited two of its houses".
"The occupation forces also intensified their arbitrary practices in the occupied zone, sealing off the towns of Hasbayya, Kawkaba, Ain Qinia, Ibl al-Saqi, and Aitaroun and imposing a curfew on Ibl al-Saqi, Ain Qinia and Hasbayya.
"These practices were confronted by a courageous decision taken by the Khalwat al-Bayyda Sheikhs who prohibited collaboration with the occupation, thus confusing the enemy and its collaborators who released some of the detainees arrested earlier.
"There were 122 "Israeli" air and ground aggressions in the month of March. Aerial aggressions constituted 25,4%, including 9% as mock air raids, and 7,4% hovering, in comparison with the 30,9% air aggressions in February 1999.
"Enemy warplanes staged 11 raids on areas in the south and the western Beqaa.
"On March 5, they rocketed the area between Jbal al-Botom and Zibqeen, injuring Loai Mohammed Bzei, 12, in Zibqeen. The boy panicked and fell off a wall.
The enemy raided the same area on March 15 and 17. It also fired missiles on the woods of Shaitieh town, Mrs. Wasila Shibli was wounded and some houses were damaged as a result of the aggression.
On March 19, "Israeli" aircraft attacked the Abu Rashed area, woods of al-Qatrani, al-Sraireh, and Berket Jabbour (western Beqaa)".
"Enemy warplanes on March 22 raided Mount al-Rafieh, the Sojod woods, Mleta (Iqlim al-Touffah), Mount Abu Rashed, and al-Qantrani (western Beqaa)".
"On March 24, enemy warplanes staged a series of raids on the mid and western sectors; the area east of Zawtar al-Gharbieh; the hilltops between al-Lwaizeh and Mleikh; and the area between Zibqeen and Jbal al-Botom.
"The most prominent was the enemy's raid on a Lebanese army checkpoint in Wadi Jahanam (Rashia) which injured one officer and three soldiers.
"On March 16 and 17, "Israeli" enemy bombarded the town of Haddatha with two 120mm rounds damaging a number of houses and a civilian car. The enemy artillery also fired three 120mm rounds on the village of Zillaya and damaged a number of houses.
Moreover, occupation forces targeted with shells the people of Mleikh
as they were on their way to return to their hometown that has been deserted
for years. The residents had to postpone the return.
"On the other hand, enemy forces sealed off the occupied town of Aitaroun,
leaving only one of its entrances open. "Israeli" troops barred the residents
from leaving the town.
Enemy also besieged the towns of Hasbayya, Ibl as-Saqi and Ain Qinia as a collective punishment for what the occupation army called the villages working with "enemy security parties".
"The blockade of Ibl as-Saqi has been going on for over eleven days now. Enemy forces have arrested 8 of the town's residents and barred the Bayyada Sheikhs from traveling through the Zimrayya crossing".
"The enemy questioned 40 residents in the area, and later released some of them, moving the rest to the al-Khiam detention center and "Israeli" prisons in occupied Palestine.
Occupation forces on March 14 detained Khalil Ibrahim Youness from Sheheen after storming the town.
"Furthermore, the enemy on March 8 expelled noncommissioned officer in Internal Security Forces Zaid Youssef Srairi after detaining him for 13 months. They also deported ISF corporal Hatem Jaber Hadaifah, 32, of Qinia on March 15. Eight days later "Israelis" expelled the family of Ghattas Swaidi of the Araya town (Jezzine District). On March 26 the enemy deported Youssef Melhem al-Khouri from the Ain Zhalta town".