UN peacekeepers in Lebanon urge immediate de-escalation

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon urged de-escalation on Friday after a big increase in hostilities at the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire for almost a year.

The UNIFIL force had witnessed "a heavy intensification of the hostilities across the Blue Line" and throughout its area of operations, spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Reuters.

"We are concerned at the increased escalation across the Blue Line and urge all actors to immediately de-escalate," he said.

The Blue Line refers to the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.

Late on Thursday, Israeli warplanes carried out their most intense strikes on southern Lebanon of the conflict.

It followed attacks this week which blew up thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, killing at least 37 people and wounding thousands more.

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan)