In the deadliest day in Lebanon since cross-border violence broke out between the militants and Israel almost a year ago, Hezbollah’s hand-held radios exploded across the country’s south on Wednesday. This heightened tensions following similar explosions of the group’s pagers the day before.
The Bekaa Valley and the suburbs of Beirut saw 20 fatalities and over 450 injuries on Wednesday, according to the health ministry of Lebanon. The number of individuals killed from Tuesday’s blasts increased to 12, including two children, and the number of injured to nearly 3,000.
Security sources said that Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad was behind the explosions, while Israeli officials have not responded to the reports. According to a Hezbollah official, the incident was the largest security breech in the organization’s history.
The operations seemed to destabilize Hezbollah, as they played out alongside Israel’s 11-month-old war in Gaza and heightened fears of an escalation on its Lebanese border and the risk of a full-blown regional war.
“The fight is about to enter a new phase. Speaking at an air force facility, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated, “It requires courage, determination, and perseverance from us.”
Israel has been charged by Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi of engineering a dangerous escalation on several fronts that has brought the Middle East to the verge of a regional war.
The United States claimed it was engaging in vigorous diplomacy to prevent the dispute from getting worse while denying any role in the explosions. Speaking under anonymity, a U.S. official claimed that Israel informed Washington on Tuesday that it would take action in Lebanon. However, the individual stated that Washington was taken by surprise by the operation and that Israel had not given any details.
On Wednesday, at least one of the blasts in Lebanon occurred near a funeral organized by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of the group’s pagers exploded across the country and wounded many of its fighters. Hezbollah turned to pagers and other low-tech communication devices in an attempt to evade Israeli surveillance of mobile phones. Lebanon’s Red Cross responded with 30 ambulance teams to multiple explosions in different areas, including the south of Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Images of the exploded walkie-talkies showed labels bearing the name of Japanese radio communications and telephone company ICOM (6208.T), which is investigating news reports two-way radio devices bearing its logo exploded in Lebanon and will release updated information as it becomes available on its website. The company has previously warned about counterfeit versions of its devices circulating in the market, especially discontinued models.
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday about the pager blasts after a request by Arab states. Hezbollah, which has vowed to retaliate against Israel, said on Wednesday it attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets, the first strike at its arch-foe since the blasts. The two sides have been fighting across the Lebanese border since the Gaza conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, fuelling fears of a wider Middle East war that could drag in the United States and Iran.
(Reuters)
