Israel-Hezbollah conflict – latest: Israel strikes Lebanon as Hezbollah says device blasts are ‘act of war’
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blames Israel for attacks on group's communications devices that left 37 dead
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The Israeli military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as the movement’s leader accused Israel of “crossing all of the red lines”, heightening fears of an escalation into a full-blown regional war.
Israeli jets were carrying out huge sonic booms over the Lebanese capital Beirut during a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday, according to a witness.
Nasrallah blamed Israel for this week's deadly attacks on the militant group's communications devices, which he called a "severe blow" and said the group is investigating.
Hand-held walkie-talkie radios used by the armed group were detonated across Lebanon’s south on Wednesday, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group’s pagers the day before.
The Lebanese mission to the UN said that they were detonated by “electronic messages”, and authorities had concluded the explosives had been implanted before arriving in the country.
Lebanon's health minister said on Thursday that the death toll from the second attack in Beirut's suburbs and the Bekaa Valley has now risen to 25, with at least 608 injured. A further 12 people were killed in explosions the previous day, including two children, with nearly 2,300 wounded.
"We are opening a new phase in the war," Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in the aftermath, adding that his country’s military focus is shifting to its northern border.
At least 20 dead as walkie-talkies explode in Lebanon as Israel declares ‘new phase of war’ against Hezbollah
A war with Hezbollah may be looming. Is Israel prepared?
From booby-trapped walkie-talkies to exploding pagers – could our phones and cars be next?
Everything we know about the Hezbollah device explosions – and the questions that remain
Hezbollah pager attack mapped: Where did the explosions take place?
Lammy ‘concerned’ by civilian casualties in ongoing Lebanon conflict
The Foreign Secretary has expressed concern about “rising tensions and civilian casualties” in Lebanon amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel is reported to have carried out air strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon as Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate following this week’s attacks that targeted Lebanese militants with exploding pagers.
In a televised speech, Mr Nasrallah said the attacks, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, had been a “severe blow” and claimed they had killed dozens, including children, and wounded thousands.
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Lammy ‘concerned’ by civilian casualties in ongoing Lebanon conflict
The Foreign Secretary urged British nationals to leave Lebanon while it was still possible after further Israeli air strikes on the country’s south.
Ceasefire deal over Gaza unlikely by end of Biden’s term, say reports
US officials now believe that a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is not expected before the end of Joe Biden’s term in January, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The newspaper cited top-level officials in the White House, State Department and Pentagon without naming them.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said two weeks ago that 90 per cent of a ceasefire deal had been agreed upon while Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly said Washington has been working “around the clock” to get to an agreement.
The United States and mediators Qatar and Egypt have for months made attempts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas but have failed to arrive at a final agreement.
The exploding device attacks dealt a major but not crippling blow to Hezbollah, analysts say
The waves of remotely triggered explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members in grocery stores, on streets and at a funeral procession this week made for an eerie and shocking spectacle.
Analysts said Hezbollah will be able to regroup militarily and find communications workarounds after the attack, but the psychological effects will likely run deep.
The explosions — widely blamed on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement — killed at least 37 people, including two children, wounded more than 3,000 and deeply unsettled even Lebanese who have no Hezbollah affiliation.
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The exploding device attacks dealt a major but not crippling blow to Hezbollah, analysts say
The remotely triggered explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members this week made for an eerie and shocking spectacle
Israel destroys 1,000 Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels, military says
Israeli fighter jets have pounded Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the past few hours, striking hundreds of rocket launcher barrels that were set to be used to immediately fire toward Israeli territory, the military said.
It said that since the afternoon fighter jets struck some 100 rocket launchers consisting of about 1,000 barrels.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to operate to degrade the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s infrastructure and capabilities in order to defend the State of Israel,” the IDF said.
US hasn’t signaled an increase in troops as they maintain presence in Middle East
The US has kept an increased military presence in the Middle East throughout much of the past year, with about 40,000 forces, at least a dozen warships and four Air Force fighter jet squadrons spread across the region.
As attacks between Israel and Hezbollah sharply spiked this week, worries are growing that the conflict could escalate into an all-out war, even as Tel Aviv keeps up its nearly yearlong fight against Hamas militants in Gaza.
So far, the US hasn’t signaled a troop increase or change as a result of the latest attacks, and there is already a beefed-up force in the region. A military official said the additional resources have helped as the US patrols various conflict areas, including operations targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, defending Israel and countering threats from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea and launched ballistic missiles at Israel.
Diplomatic solution in Middle East 'urgent," White House says
A diplomatic solution in the Middle East is achievable and is urgent, the White House said on Thursday, as Reuters reported Israel carried out dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon.
The White House believes a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would “lower the temperature” in the region, spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Israel say its conflict with Hezbollah is part of wider confrontation with Iran
Israel says its conflict with Hezbollah, like its war in Gaza against Hamas, is part of a wider regional confrontation with Iran, which sponsors both groups as well as armed movements in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Also on Thursday, Israeli security forces said that an Israeli businessman had been arrested last month after attending at least two meetings in Iran where he discussed assassinating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister or the head of the Shin Bet spy agency.
Israel has been accused of assassinations including a blast in Tehran that killed the leader of Hamas and another in a Beirut suburb that killed a senior Hezbollah commander within hours of each other in July.
Exploding devices in Lebanon 'detonated by electronic messages'
A preliminary investigation by Lebanese authorities into the communications devices that blew uphave found that they were implanted with explosives before arriving in the country.
According to a letter sent by the Lebanese mission to the UN, they were detonated by sending electronic messages to the devices.
Israel was responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks, they added.
The 15-member Security Council is due to meet on Friday over the blasts.
How the plot to explode Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies unfolded
Shut it off, bury it, put it in an iron chest and lock it up,” the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared in February, talking about the mobile phones belonging to members and their families.
“The collaborator [with the Israelis] is the cell phone in your hands, and those of your wife and your children. This cell phone is the collaborator and the killer,” he added. “Do it for the sake of security and to protect the blood and dignity of people.”
After months of near-daily fire across the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah were concerned about Israeli location and tracking and spyware via mobile phones – which could allow for targeted strikes or disruptions to operations.
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How the plot to explode Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies unfolded
Israel’s Mossad spy agency is believed to be behind the operation, Chris Stevenson writes, which likely took months of planning
Hunt for origins of Lebanon pager attack widens to Bulgaria and Norway
Bulgaria and Norway became new focal points on Thursday of a global hunt for who supplied Hezbollah with the thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon this week in a deadly blow to the militant group.
How and with whose help the pager attack was carried out was not yet known, although so far there were possible leads in Taiwan, Hungary and Bulgaria.
One theory is that the pagers were intercepted and hooked up with explosives after they left factories. Another is that Israel orchestrated the whole deadly supply chain.
Bulgarian authorities said on Thursday that its interior ministry and state security services had opened an investigation into a company’s possible ties. They did not name the company they were investigating.
Local media reports said Sofia-based Norta Global Ltd had facilitated the sale of the pagers to Hezbollah. Citing security sources, national broadcaster bTV reported that 1.6 million euros related to the transaction passed through Bulgaria, and was sent to Hungary.
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