Israel destroyed a Hezbollah cannon in an air strike in southern Lebanon, but indicated Monday that there would be no large-scale response to the killing of an Israeli teen by guerrilla shelling.

The father (L) no name given, of a 16-year-old boy that was killed by a shell fired by Hezbollah from across the Lebanese border into Israel sits in shock shortly after learning of his son's death, while other cry next to him, in the nothern Israeli town of Shlomi, a few kilometers from the Lebanese border Aug. 10, 2003. Israeli security sources said three anti-tank shells were fired and exploded in the center of the town. Hezbollah said in Lebanon that it had fired anti-aircraft shells at Israeli fighter jets flying over southern Lebanon. Four other Israelis were injured. [AP]

Israeli officials said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would largely use diplomacy to try to halt cross-border rocketing by the Lebanese guerrilla group.

Israel blames Syria, the main power in Lebanon, for the weekend flareup, and signaled that it wants Washington to enforce a US demand that Syria rein in Hezbollah, which also has Iranian backing.

There is also concern that an escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border might re-ignite Israeli-Palestinian fighting, in a lull since Palestinian militant groups declared a cease-fire six weeks ago. Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian areas have ties to Hezbollah.

The United States would not want to further jeopardize its "road map" plan for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, which is moving forward very slowly because of arguments between the two sides over implementation.

The Israeli boy, 16-year-old Haviv Dadon, was killed Sunday as he walked home from a summer job in the border town of Shlomi. He was the first Israeli civilian to be killed by Hezbollah shelling since 1999. Five others were hurt, including a mother and her 9-month-old baby.

After the teenager's funeral Sunday, the streets of Shlomi, a working-class town of 6,000 people, were deserted, with residents staying in their homes or in bomb shelters. "We are very afraid," said resident Lara Elhai, 50. "Any moment, they (Hezbollah) could shoot at us."

Israeli attack helicopters destroyed the cannon that launched the shells, the Israeli military said. Early Monday, an Israeli warplane broke the sound barrier over Beirut, setting off a sonic boom that woke residents, a frequent Israeli tactic when tension rises.

However, Israeli defense officials suggested Monday that there would be no further response. "There is a combined military and diplomatic reaction here. It's important to remember the diplomatic aspect here," Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Army Radio.

Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, said he expected Hezbollah to pull back.

"It appears Hezbollah is not interested in a deterioration (of the situation) because it is fully aware of the might of the Israeli Defense Forces," Gilad told Israel Radio.

Both officials held Syria responsible, saying that without support from Damascus, the Lebanese guerrillas would be unable to get more supplies, including rockets.

Israel and Lebanese guerrillas engaged in a bloody war stretching back to 1982. It ended in May 2000, when Israel withdrew to an international boundary drawn by the United Nations. Except for clashes over an area Lebanon still claims, the border was largely quiet.

Several months ago, Hezbollah started firing anti-aircraft shells at Israeli warplanes overflying Lebanon. Israel's sophisticated aircraft are hardly endangered by such weapons, but the shells' trajectory sometimes took them across the border, where they exploded over Israeli towns.

Until Sunday, no one had been killed or seriously injured on the Israeli side, and Israel did not retaliate.

Hezbollah held Israel responsible for Sunday's shelling, since it was sending its warplanes over southern Lebanon, drawing fire.

"This anti-aircraft fire is fired as a reaction to warplanes that regularly violate Lebanese airspace," Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheik Naim Kassem said in an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite station.

Israel denied that planes were flying in the border area at the time of the shelling.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Israel to exercise utmost restraint, but said the shelling "represents a serious violation" of the border and previous UN resolutions.

Analysts said Israel is under strong US pressure to keep the lid on the conflict with Hezbollah.

"The United States wants (to deal with) this as part of its own global war against Islamic fundamentalist, terrorist organizations," said Eytan Gilboa, a Syria expert at Israel's Bar Ilan University. Hezbollah is on the U.S. list of terror organizations.

Also, just two months after launching the "road map" plan, President Bush does not want to see it swept away by another round of Mideast unrest, analysts said.

"I don't think the United States is going to give a green light to Israel to go and do what needs to be done," said analyst Avraham Rotem of Bar Ilan. However, he warned, Israeli "public opinion is not tolerate to the killing of Israeli citizens."

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