In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened senior ministers to decide whether to expand the campaign against the Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, Hezbollah.

The latest escalation was sparked by a Hezbollah attack on Sunday in which an Israeli general, two soldiers and a journalist were killed by a roadside bomb. It came only days after three soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah ambush.

Katyusha rockets were also fired towards Israel yesterday, though the Hezbollah denied it was responsible. In response, Israel yesterday bombed Hezbollah bases deep inside Lebanon, including a Hezbollah ammunitions depot north of Israel's self-declared security zone, the army said.Israel's next move depends to a large extent on whether the Hezbollah fires more rockets at northern Israel in retaliationfor the bombings. Katyusha attacks are likely to trigger a massive Israeli response. The escalation renewed the anguished debate in Israel over how to end the 17-year occupation of southern Lebanon, where the Hezbollah has led a guerrilla war to eject Israeli troops.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has said he will only pull out troops if the Lebanese government disarms the guerrillas and deploys its soldiers along the border, something Lebanon has refused to guarantee.

There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's airstrikes yesterday, which were among the most intensive since April 1996, when Israel attacked its northern neighbour for two weeks in the so-called `Grapes of Wrath' operation. Israel's armed forces chief-of-staff, Lt Gen Shaul Mofaz, said the war against the militant group would continue as long as necessary.The Hezbollah's Katyusha attacks on Israel have become less common since `Grapes of Wrath,'' coming mainly in response to deaths of Lebanese civilians.

But fearing its militarystrike could lead to more cross-border attacks, the Israeli army ordered hundreds of thousands of its citizens living along the border to spend the night in shelters.

In the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, several miles from the border, restaurants closed early and the streets were deserted.

Several children's costume parties for the Jewish holiday of Purim were cancelled. The holiday began today. After spending the night in a shelter in Kiryat Shmona, seven-year-old Anya Perov waved a silver glitter wand with a tinsel fringe, the remnant of her magician's costume.

``I am a little bit sad. I would have wanted to have a party today but in a shelter, you can't have a party,'' Anya said, sitting on a bunk bed in the shelter.

Netanyahu said Israel would ``spare no effort, political or military, in the search for a withdrawal from Lebanon.'' But he added that Israel would not tolerate attacks.

``If we don't act, the situation will be much worse,'' he said.