"We learned our lessons from the Lebanon war," said "Tempest" Armour Battalion commander Eldar, who declined to give his last name.

The 34-day war, launched in July 2006 after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack, killed more than 1,200 civilians in Lebanon and more than 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.

The war left Hezbollah gloating it had inflicted a defeat on the Middle East's most powerful military, which had been taken by surprise by the preparedness and fighting capability of the Shiite militia. The Israeli army was unable to break the back of the militants, who kept up a daily barrage of rockets against northern Israel.

A U.N.-brokered ceasefire went into effect on Aug. 14, 2006, but tension has risen since the assassination of a top Hezbollah commander in Syria.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the Feb. 12 killing of Imad Mughnieh in a car bomb in Damascus and declared "open war" on Israel. Israel has denied any involvement in his death.

Looking over the border from an observation post at the Misgav Am kibbutz, an Israeli military intelligence officer said Nasrallah's words must be taken seriously.

"He generally doesn't issue empty threats," the intelligence officer for the border division said.

Amid renewed tensions and a political crisis in Beirut, the U.S. said Thursday it was deploying the warship USS Cole in the eastern Mediterranean off Lebanon as a signal aimed at bolstering regional stability.

"Hezbollah has been rearming since the end of the war. It didn't wait for Mughnieh's assassination to prepare for renewed conflict," said an Israeli intelligence officer, asking to be identified only as "Lieutenant-Colonel G."

The military is particularly concerned by the successes the guerrillas scored against Israeli tank units by using Soviet-made Metis-M and Kornet anti-tank missiles Israel claims were supplied by Syria.

Officers say Israel's Merkava tanks, considered among the world's most powerful, have now better protection after suffering significant losses during the Lebanon war. -AFP