Deadly Israeli attacks that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers crossed all red lines, the leader of the heavily armed Lebanese movement said Thursday (September 19, 2024) in a speech broadcast as sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook buildings in Beirut.
Lebanon and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment, which killed 37 people and injured about 3,000, overwhelmed Lebanese hospitals and bloodily devastated Hezbollah. Israel did not immediately respond to the attacks, which security sources said were likely carried out by the Mossad spy agency.
“There is no doubt that we have been subjected to a major security and military blow that is unprecedented in the history of the resistance and unprecedented in the history of Lebanon,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in his TV speech, filmed on a secret location. .
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“This kind of killing, targeting and crime is perhaps unprecedented in the world,” he said, appearing in front of a featureless red background in his usual black turban.
The attacks “crossed all red lines,” he said. “The enemy went beyond all controls, laws and morals,” he said, adding that the attacks “can be considered war crimes or a declaration or war, they can be called anything and they deserve to be called anything become. Of course that was the enemy’s intention.”
As the broadcast aired, deafening booms from Israeli warplanes shook Beirut, a sound that has become common in recent months but has taken on greater significance as the threat of all-out war has steadily increased. Israel said its warplanes struck southern Lebanon overnight. Hezbollah reported that airstrikes in the border area resumed in the afternoon.
The attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment spread fear across Lebanon, with people abandoning electronic devices for fear of carrying bombs in their pockets.
“Who can even secure their phone now? When I heard what happened yesterday, I left my phone on my motorcycle and walked away,” Mustafa Sibal said on a street in Beirut.
The Lebanese army said Thursday (September 19, 2024) that it is blowing up pagers and suspected telecom equipment in controlled explosions in several areas. It called on citizens to report suspicious devices.
Lebanese authorities have banned the use of walkie-talkies and pagers on flights from Beirut airport until further notice, the National News Agency reported. Such devices were also not allowed to be shipped by air.
Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel the day after the October 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which sparked the Gaza war, and ongoing firefights have occurred since then. While neither side has allowed this to escalate into a full-scale war, it has led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the border area on both sides.
“The terrorist organization Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone. For decades, Hezbollah has armed civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields,” the Israeli military said.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is active to bring security to northern Israel, to enable the return of residents to their homes and to achieve all war objectives.”
Israel said its warplanes struck villages in southern Lebanon overnight, and a security source and Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV reported that airstrikes near the border resumed just after noon on Thursday.
Handheld radios used by Hezbollah exploded in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, killing 25 people and injuring hundreds.
Also read | Enabling residents to return to northern Israel is now a Gaza war goal, Netanyahu says
The day before, hundreds of pagers – used by Hezbollah to evade mobile phone surveillance – exploded at once, killing 12 people, including at least two children, and injuring more than 2,300.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the United Nations Security Council to take a strong stand and end what he called Israel’s “aggression” and “technological war” against his country.
Israel says its conflict with Hezbollah, like its war in Gaza against Hamas, is part of a broader regional confrontation with Iran, which sponsors groups and armed movements in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Murder plot
Also on Thursday (September 19, 2024), Israeli security forces said an Israeli businessman was arrested last month after attending at least two rallies in Iran where he attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Defense Minister or the head of the Shin Bet discussed. spy agency.
Last week, Shin Bet revealed a plot by Hezbollah to assassinate former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
Israel has been accused of assassination plots, including an explosion in Tehran that killed the Hamas leader and another in a Beirut suburb that killed a senior Hezbollah commander within hours of each other in July.
Despite the events of recent days, a spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said the situation along the border had “not changed much in terms of exchanges of fire between the parties”.
“Last week there was an intensification. This week it’s more or less the same. There are still gun battles. It is still concerning, still concerning, and the rhetoric is high,” said the spokesperson, Andrea Tenenti.
Published – Sep 19, 2024 8:52 PM IST
