Hezbollah guerillas fired shells into Israel on Friday morning, prompting the most intense fire between Israel and the pro-Syrian militant group in a number of months.

Hezbollah fired approximately nine shells and rockets at the Har Dov area of Israel near the Lebanese and Syrian border according to the Israeli government. Israel responded with artillery fire at Hezbollah positions in and around the Lebanese village of Kfar Chouba.

According to a report published by the Associated Press, witnesses in Kfar Chouba counted 45 Israeli shells fired in the area. Hezbollah has not confirmed any casualties at this time.

Israel also used a coordinated attack by a tank, helicopter gun ships and war planes. The tank hit a Hezbollah outpost near Rmeish, a Lebanese village near the Mediterranean coastline.

According to a broadcast on Al-Manar, the Hezbollah controlled television station in Lebanon, a Hezbollah spokesman said, 'The Islamic Resistance warns the Zionist enemy that any attack on civilians will be met with the appropriate response.'

Approximately 2,000 anti-American demonstrators in front of the U.S. embassy in Beirut cheered when the news of the attacks was announced.

Hezbollah refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and seeks to destroy the Jewish state. With Syrian troops and intelligence officers now out of Lebanon after occupying the country for more than 25 years, the Syrians can still exert influence through their client, Hezbollah. Hezbollah is now seeking a more active role in Lebanese politics.

The last significant incidents at the Israeli-Lebanese border took place in January when Hezbollah blew up an Israeli bulldozer working in the Har Dov area which is referred to by the Lebanese as Chebaa Farms.