Lebanese security officials said the roar of jets was heard over the city before dawn, followed by thousands of leaflets falling from the sky. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

"To the Lebanese citizens, who protects Lebanon?" read the small leaflet written in Arabic. "Who is lying to you? Who is sending your children to a battle they are not ready for? Who wishes the return of destruction? Who is the tool in the hands of his Syrian and Iranian masters?"

Then in bold letters, it said: "Hezbollah is causing enormous harm to Lebanon," and added that Israel was determined to protect its citizens.

Some of the leaflets were picked up by residents of the south Beirut neighborhood of Ghobeiri, a Hezbollah stronghold.

The note was signed "The State of Israel."

Israel had no immediate comment.

It was the first time in years that Israeli planes dropped leaflets over the Lebanese capital.

The move follows some of the worst fighting in at least three years. Hezbollah guerrillas attacked Israeli military outposts on Monday and Israel pounded guerrilla positions with artillery and by missiles from warplanes. Four guerrillas were killed and 11 Israeli soldiers were wounded in the clashes in a disputed area near the border.

Hezbollah, the militant Shiite Muslim group, is a close ally of Syria and is backed by Iran. The fighting may have been intended to take the pressure off Syria, which is facing an international probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri.

Israel, under military pressure from Hezbollah, withdrew its army from a border buffer zone in southern Lebanon in 2000, ending 18 years of occupation. Clashes have occasionally erupted since then.