UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for "maximum restraint" over the bloodshed on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Ban's spokesman said on Tuesday.
A bloody skirmish which saw Israeli and Lebanese soldiers exchanging fire along the northernmost section of the border killed a senior Israeli officer and four Lebanese including three servicemen and a journalist.
It was the most severe act of violence since a 2006 war in which 1,200 Lebanese residents and 158 Israelis were killed.
"The UN Secretary General is aware of the reports on the situation at the Israeli-Lebanese border. He is concerned over the incident calling on both sides maximum restraint," Martin Nesirky said.
Russia's envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, who chairs the 15-member UN Security Council in August, urged the sides to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that prohibits storing weapons at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
An unnamed western diplomat said the UN Security Council may hold an official meeting in the wake of the clashes.
Over the four years after the Israeli-Lebanese war in 2006, northern Israel saw several rocket attacks from Lebanese terrorist organizations while there were no cases of confrontation between the regular army forces of both countries.
MOSCOW, August 3 (RIA Novosti)
