A Lebanese Military court has sentenced to death four people on charges of spying for Israel and conspiring with the regime to wage a war on the country.

Two of the defendants were tried in absentia because they had reportedly fled to Israel, the Lebanese media reported on Wednesday.

The other two were a staff sergeant in the Lebanese internal security services and his wife.

The four were found guilty of "conspiring with Israel, allowing it to launch an attack against Lebanon and to make contacts with its agents in Lebanon."

Lebanon launched a counter espionage crackdown last spring through which it arrested at least 100 suspects.

According to senior Lebanese security officials the arrests have dealt a severe blow to Israel's spy networks in the country.

SB/SS/RE