Israel-Lebanon latest: Israel strikes southern Lebanon as Hezbollah says device blasts are ‘act of war’
Israel says it struck 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers as well as other ‘terrorist sites’ while the UK and US urged restraint
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The Israeli military has carried out its most extensive airstrikes on southern Lebanon since the start of the Gaza war, saying it has struck around 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers as well as other “terrorist sites”.
Huge sonic booms could be heard over the Lebanese capital Beirut even as the Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech accusing Israel of “crossing all of the red lines”.
Nasrallah blamed Israel for this week’s deadly attacks on the militant group’s communications devices, which he called a “severe blow” and an “act of war”. He said Hezbollah was still investigating what appears to be one of the largest security breaches in the group’s history.
Hand-held walkie-talkie radios used by the armed group were detonated across Lebanon’s south on Wednesday, heightening fears of an escalation into a full-blown regional war.
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.
Israel launches major strikes on Lebanon as Hezbollah chief says device explosions ‘cross all red lines’
How the plot to explode Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies unfolded
The Lebanon explosions raise a question: Deep into the smartphone era, who is still using pagers?
Japan company denies making Hezbollah walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon
Exploding device attacks in Lebanon ‘utterly despicable’, says Harris
The exploding device attacks in the Lebanon are “utterly despicable and extraordinarily dangerous”, the Taoiseach has said.
Simon Harris said the safety of Irish troops currently based in the country on UN missions was an “absolute priority” for the Government.
“There are basic rules around engagement, even in conflict, and at the very core is the idea that you don’t send explosive devices in among civilian populations and to watch explosions taking place in supermarkets,” he said.
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Exploding device attacks in Lebanon ‘utterly despicable’, says Harris
The Taoiseach said the safety of Irish troops stationed in Lebanon was an “absolute priority” for the Government.
Recap: Tensions continue throughout Thursday as rockets launched
In Thursday’s late operation, Israel launched dozens of bombs across southern Lebanon, three Lebanese security sources said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israeli radio stations reported that dozens of fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets including around 100 rocket launchers.
Israel’s military did not confirm the shelling but said earlier it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets, including rocket launchers and weapon depots in southern Lebanon.
In a TV address on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the device explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday “crossed all red lines”.
“The enemy went beyond all controls, laws and morals,” he said, adding the attacks “could be considered war crimes or a declaration of war.”
Deep into the smartphone era, who is still using pagers?
The small plastic box that beeped and flashed numbers was a lifeline to Laurie Dove in 1993. Pregnant with her first baby in a house beyond any town in rural Kansas, Dove used the little black device to keep in touch with her husband as he delivered medical supplies. He carried one too. They had a code.
“If I really needed something I would text ‘9-1-1.’ That meant anything from, ‘I’m going to labor right now’ to ‘I really need to get ahold of you,’” she recalls. “It was our version of texting. I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers. It was important.”
Beepers and all they symbolized — connection to each other or, in the 1980s, to drugs — went the way of answering machines decades ago when smartphones wiped them from popular culture. They resurfaced in tragic form Tuesday when thousands of sabotaged pagers exploded simultaneously in Lebanon, killing at least a dozen people and injuring thousands in a mysterious, multi-day attack as Israel declared a new phase of its war on Hezbollah.
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The Lebanon explosions raise a question: Deep into the smartphone era, who is still using pagers?
Electronic pagers that were popular status symbols in the 1990s are used for communication precisely because they are old school
What has boobytrapping Hezbollah’s pagers actually achieved?
As a global propaganda coup for the Israeli security services, the pager attacks on Hezbollah members in Lebanon could scarcely be surpassed.
What kind of a mind, one wonders, dreams up such a macabre lark as this, an “exploding cigar” practical joke on a grand scale?
The sheer audacity of it was very much in the Israeli tradition, and it made some points rather forcefully. It proved that the Israelis could intercept Hezbollah supply lines, and with such ease that they could find the time to fit a few grams of military-grade explosives to each device, disguised as an electronic component.
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What has boobytrapping Hezbollah’s pagers actually achieved?
The audacious attack was a PR coup for Israel and humiliation for the terrorists – but it does nothing to create a lasting framework of peaceful co-existence, says Sean O’Grady
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.
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