BEIRUT: Israel stepped up its military maneuvers Sunday, firing a series of shots into Lebanon as a senior officer voiced concerns that France’s donation of anti-tank missiles to the Lebanese Army may end up in Hizbullah’s hands.

Lebanon filed an official complaint to the United Nations Security Council at the weekend over its apparent discovery of two Israeli espionage devices in the mountains east of Beirut, as well as surveillance cameras.

The National News Agency reported that the Israeli Army “opened fire with heavy machine guns in the direction of Al-Alam hilltops and Mount Hermon slopes with firing reportedly lasting for half an hour before helicopters and spy drones took to the air.

The live fire came in the wake of intensive Israeli military exercises last week. The Israeli daily Haaretz, quoting an army commander, reported Sunday that such drills were designed to mimic “entirely realistic emergency scenarios” which could occur in the event of fresh hostilities across the Blue Line.

The paper said that Israeli battalions had been carrying out tests on sophisticated radar and anti-tank missile protection systems.

France confirmed Friday that it would provide Lebanon with 100 HOT missiles, which can be mounted and fired from the military’s stock of Gazelle helicopters. A French official said that the weapons would be donated in the new year “with no conditions attached.”

An anonymous official in Tel Aviv repeated concerns previously voiced by US lawmakers that military funding to Lebanon could end up furnishing Hizbullah’s considerable arsenal of rockets and other sophisticated arms.

“We have raised with foreign governments our concerns over Hizbullah’s growing domination of the Lebanese government apparatus and concern that weapons transfer to the Lebanese forces will in fact become part of the Hizbullah arsenal,” the official said.

The US’ House Foreign Affairs Committee warned in August that providing Lebanon with weapons “would be very irresponsible and could jeopardize security and stability in the region,” given what it interpreted as Hizbullah’s burgeoning influence on Lebanese defense agendas. A statement from the Foreign Minister Saturday detailed Lebanon’s complaint to the UN over ongoing Israeli espionage activities, prompted by last week’s discovery of spy devices set up at Sannine and Barouk.

“Israel installed two espionage systems in the regions of Barouk and Sannine to receive and transmit communication and to serve as a link between Israeli spy posts on Lebanese territory and the [Israeli] border post of Roueisat al-Alam,” the statement said. It added that the devices constituted “a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty, international law and [UN] Security Council Resolution 1701,” and “aggression against Lebanese territory.”

Hizbullah’s executive council head Sayyed Hashem Safieddine expressed his party’s surprise Sunday that more had not been made of the discoveries.

The Lebanese Army said last week it had been alerted to the presence of the devices by Hizbullah and Safieddine suggested that some parties had been deliberately looking the other way as Israel continually violated Lebanese territorial boundaries.

He alleged some in Lebanon were ignoring the issue of espionage devices “because this additional evidence could point out Israel’s involvement in all assassinations, including that of [former Prime Minister] Rafik Hariri.

“Some might have intentionally refrained from dealing with this issue seriously to divert attention away from assassinations that took place with Israel standing behind them or, at least, with the possibility of Israeli involvement,” he added.

Israel detonated two of its spy devices in southern Lebanon following detection by Hizbullah December 3, slightly injuring two passers-by.

Safieddine said that the discovery and dismantling of spy rings demonstrated that the Lebanese Army could effectively cooperate with the resistance in order to protect Lebanon. He added, however, that other groups in the country were encouraging external meddling in matters of national security.

“Some have mastered the art of luring foreign interference in Lebanon’s security, political and economic affairs to make Lebanon prone to Israeli violations,” Safieddine said. “These policies do not believe in Lebanon’s immunity or strength and rely on Western and US [support].” More than 100 people have been arrested since early 2009 on suspicion of collaborating with Israel.