Hezbollah walkie-talkie blasts: 20 dead in new wave of explosions as Israel blamed for pager attack
Israel declares ‘new phase’ of war as 32 killed and 3,450 injured in two days of attacks targeting Hezbollah hardware
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Twenty people have been killed and at least 450 injured in a second day of explosions across Beirut and other cities in Lebanon, after hand-held walkie-talkie devices detonated.
At least one of the blasts on Wednesday reportedly took place near a funeral organised by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of pagers used by the group exploded across the country.
While Israel have not confirmed they are behind the attack, their defence minister told troops they are at the “start of a new phase in the war” and would be shifting focus to their northern border.
Meanwhile, US officials said that Israel decided to blow up the pager devices carried by militia group Hezbollah earlier than planned over fears the operation would be discovered.
Two children were among the 12 people killed while nearly 3,000 people were wounded after the handheld devices simultaneously detonated across Lebanon and Syria in the first attack on Tuesday afternoon.
“It was a use it or lose it moment,” one US official told Axios about the reasoning Israel gave to Washington for the timing.
The Iran-backed militant group has vowed to retaliate against Israel, whose military declined to comment on the blasts.
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?
Watch: Moment of explosion in Beirut one day after pagers detonate
Watch: Moment of explosion in Beirut one day after pagers detonate
The moment explosions rang out in Beirut on Wednesday, 18 September, during a funeral procession for a person who was killed when pagers detonated the previous day, was captured on video. Lebanon’s health ministry says at least nine people were killed and 300 were wounded. It comes a day after at least 12 people – including two children – were killed and thousands wounded after electronic pagers belonging to Hezbollah simultaneously exploded in Lebanon and Syria. Reports emerged that hand-held walkie-talkie devices detonated one day after the pager blasts.
Live view of Israel’s border with Lebanon
Live view of Israel’s border with Lebanon after Hezbollah pager explosions kill nine
Watch a live view of Israel’s border with Lebanon on Wednesday 18 September after Hezbollah pager explosions killed nine and injured thousands.
Read the full story: At least 20 dead as walkie-talkies explode in Lebanon
Handheld radios used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday in a second wave of deadly blasts as Israel’s defence minister declared his country was entering a “new phase of war” on its northern border.
At least 20 people were killed and 450 injured by the detonations, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
While Israel has not commented, the finger has been pointed at its Mossad spy agency. A senior Lebanese security source and a second source told reporters that Mossad – which has a long history of complex attacks on foreign soil – planted explosives inside the pagers. The claim was mirrored by American officials cited in US media.
Read the full article from chief international correspondent Bel Trew here:
At least 20 dead in walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon
More than 450 injured across the country a day after exploding pagers killed 12 and wounded around 3,000
Iran’s UN envoy says they will ‘duly follow up’ on attack on their ambassador
The Iranian ambassador to the UN, in a letter reported by the Iranian state news agency, reiterates that his country blames Israel and accuses it of committing acts of a “terrorist nature”.
Amir Saeid Iravani said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will duly follow up on the attack against its ambassador in Lebanon, which resulted in his injury, and reserves its rights under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond to such a heinous crime and violation.”
He added: “Western countries, especially the United States as a strategic ally, by their unwavering so-called ironclad support for this regime, bear international responsibility” for Israel’s acts.
Benjamin Netanyahu accuses UK of being ‘misguided’ and sending ‘mixed messages’
Israel’s prime minister has accused the British government of sending “mixed messages” and being “misguided” after recently suspending 30 arms licences.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Sir Keir Starmer was “sending a horrible message” to Hamas and said the UK had undermined their claim that his country had a right to defend itself by withdrawing its challenge to the arrest warrants made by the International Criminal Court.
Speaking to the Mail, Mr Netanyahu said: “After the October 7 Hamas massacre, the previous British government was clear in its support. Unfortunately, the current government is sending mixed messages.”
He added: “Just as Britain’s heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defeating barbarism, so too will history judge Israel’s stand against Hamas and Iran’s axis of terror. Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”
A war with Hezbollah may be looming. Is Israel prepared?
With Israel‘s defense minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before.
Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict appear to be fading quickly as Israel signals a desire to change the status quo in the country’s north, where it has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah since the Lebanese militant group began attacking on Oct. 8, a day after the war’s opening salvo by Hamas.
In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.
Here’s a look at how Israel is preparing for a war with Lebanon:
Read the full article here:
A war with Hezbollah may be looming. Is Israel prepared?
Exploding devices in Lebanon and escalating rhetoric from Israel's leaders have raised the specter of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah
Flowers left at the Lebanese embassy in Tehran
Tributes have been left at the gate of Lebanon’s embassy in Iran’s capital Tehran, with a growing pile of flowers visible and children seen lighting candles.
Who are Hezbollah?
Founded in 1982 during Lebanon’s civil war, Hezbollah’s initial objective was ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. It achieved that in 2000.
Shiite Muslim Hezbollah is part of a collection of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the Axis of Resistance. It was the first group that Iran backed and used as a way to export its brand of political Islamism.
In its early days the group attacked US targets, causing Washington to designate it as a terrorist organisation.
Hezbollah fighters ambushed an Israeli patrol in 2006 and took two Israeli soldiers hostage. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war that ended in a draw but Israeli bombardment wreaked widespread destruction in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s objective was eliminating Hezbollah but the Lebanese group came out stronger and became a key military and political power on Israel’s northern border.
Domestic opponents have criticized Hezbollah for maintaining its arsenal and for coming to dominate the government.
Their military capabilities have also surged, and it has played a key role in the Syrian civil war, keeping President Bashar al-Assad in power. And it has helped train Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, as well as Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Death toll rises to 20 after Wednesday explosions
The Lebanese health ministry has announced an six additional deaths from Wednesday’s explosions, which saw hand-held walkie-talkie devices explode across the country.
The latest death toll is now 20 with more than 450 people injured.
All-out war with Israel could devastate Lebanon
A full-blown war with Israel could devastate Lebanon, which has lurched from one crisis to another, including a 2019 financial collapse and the 2020 Beirut port blast.
Rising tensions may also complicate so far unsuccessful efforts by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. to negotiate a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally also backed by Iran.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday it was too soon to assess the impact of the blasts on ceasefire talks. Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful proxy in the Middle East, said in a statement it would continue to support Hamas in Gaza and Israel should await a response to the pager “massacre.”
A Hamas delegation visited people wounded in the blasts in Lebanese hospitals on Wednesday, Lebanese state news agency NNA said.
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