TYRE, Lebanon -- Lebanese Hizbollah freedom fighters opened antiaircraft fire on Israeli warplanes overflying Southern Lebanon on Saturday, but missed their targets, police said.

The fighter bombers zoomed over the western sector of the south, prompting antiaircraft batteries of the Shia Hizbollah to fire several times, they said. The Islamic Resistance, Hizbollah's military arm, confirmed in a statement that they had fired on Israeli warplanes "violating Lebanese airspace over regions in the western sector of the south."

On Tuesday, Israeli jets overflew Lebanon hours before the arrival in Beirut of U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns on a one-day trip as part of a regional tour to revive the Middle East peace process.

On Sunday, Israeli warplanes also overflew Southern Lebanon as leaders of French-speaking nations were closing a three-day summit in Beirut, AFP reported.

The United Nations has roundly criticized the frequent violation of Lebanese airspace by Israeli warplanes since the Jewish state's withdrawal from South Lebanon after a 22-year occupation in May 2000.