(Bloomberg) – The death toll in Lebanon from a series of walkie-talkie and pager explosions this week rose to 37, according to local authorities, underscoring the devastation caused by alleged Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah militants. .
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A second wave of explosions on Wednesday left 25 people dead and more than 600 injured, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Thousands of pagers, most carried by Iranian-backed groups, exploded in supermarkets, streets and homes across the country, some during funerals for Hezbollah members killed the day before. Tuesday’s near-simultaneous explosions killed two children and injured about 2,300 people.
The attack has raised fears of a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel, but Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the operation. Israel has diverted more troops to its northern border with Lebanon in recent days, with Defense Minister Yoav Galant declaring that Israel’s fight against Islamic extremists has entered a “new phase”.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in the country’s north near Lebanon on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, without providing further details. Lebanese state media reported that Israeli warplanes were flying over Beirut.
Although there is little sign that an invasion of Lebanon is imminent, Israeli officials say diplomacy with Hezbollah has failed and they will be forced to take more aggressive action to keep the group’s fighters and weapons away from the border. He said he was deaf. “Hezbollah will pay an increasing price,” Gallant said Thursday.
Israel continues to fight Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and although the intensity of the conflict is waning, ceasefire negotiations have stalled. Gallant said Israel has continued to work to destroy the Palestinian group and rescue hostages held in Gaza since the war began about a year ago, but it has increasingly turned its attention to Hezbollah. That’s what it means.
According to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Hossein Salami said Israel would face an overwhelming response to this week’s escalation, adding: “We will bring down this cruel and criminal regime.” he threatened.
Hezbollah is the most powerful Iranian-backed regional group targeting Israel, with tens of thousands of fighters and at least as many missiles and rockets, according to Israeli intelligence estimates. Many Israelis fear that their country’s much-vaunted air defenses could be destroyed in the event of a full-scale conflict.
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Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the Gaza war broke out in October. They limit their attacks to primarily military targets, usually near the border, where thousands of people on both sides have fled. Hezbollah is acting in solidarity with Hamas and says it will not stop its attacks until Israel agrees to a ceasefire in the Palestinian territories.
The United States, which considers Hamas and Hezbollah to be terrorist organizations, is trying to calm tensions and has urged Israel not to escalate attacks to the point of triggering all-out war.
red lines crossed
It is unclear to what extent this week’s explosions in Lebanon have reduced Hezbollah’s fighting capabilities. The group has vowed to retaliate, and its leader Hassan Nasrallah struck a defiant tone in a speech Thursday.
Prime Minister Nasrallah said Israel had broken all red lines and rules of engagement by blowing up pagers and other equipment. He said the attack would not stop Hezbollah from firing on Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
He described the blast as a “major security and humanitarian blow” to Hezbollah, saying many victims suffered eye injuries. He claimed that Israel was trying to kill thousands of people.
The explosion was extremely embarrassing for Hezbollah and may have been intended to inflict a psychological blow. Israeli analysts say the explosion will likely cause Shiite leaders and commanders to fear the destruction of more equipment and make communication difficult.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Israel would ask the UN Security Council, which is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the situation, for a resolution to prevent such attacks.
According to state media, Prime Minister and Speaker Nabi Berri, Hezbollah’s main political ally in Lebanon, received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Hezbollah members often used pagers and walkie-talkies, devices considered obsolete in many parts of the world. These were considered difficult for Israeli security services to penetrate given their low-tech nature. There has been speculation about how the explosion was organized, with many cybersecurity experts saying an explosive was likely planted inside the device.
–With assistance from Dan Williams.
(Updated with latest military actions in 4th paragraph, Iran comments in 7th paragraph.)
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