Hezbollah responded to an Israeli Pager Explosions attack that killed multiple people and injured thousands across Lebanon.
At least nine killed in the Pager blasts, which wounded about 2,800 people, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said. At least 170 people are in a critical condition, he said, though the nature of the other injuries is unclear.
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The unprecedented attack risks further increases tensions in the Middle East already heightened over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The extraordinary incident also underscores Hezbollah’s vulnerability as its communication network was compromised to deadly effect and follows a series of targeted assassinations against its commanders.
As Per reports from international media, the explosions were the result of a joint operation between Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, and the Israeli military. While the Israeli military has said it will not comment on the explosions, both Lebanon and Hezbollah have blamed it for the attack. Iran also blamed what it referred to as “Israeli terrorism.”
A statement put out by the Israeli military on Tuesday evening did not comment on the pager explosions, but said the chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi had held a situational assessment with commanders “focusing on readiness in both offence and defence in all arenas”.
It also said there was no change in defensive guidelines to the Israeli public but asked them to remain alert and vigilant.
Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Iran-backed Palestinian group.
In its latest statement on Wednesday, Hezbollah said it would carry on its “operations in support of Gaza”, adding that this was a “continuous path separate from the hard price that awaits the enemy in response to its massacre on Tuesday”.
Both Hezbollah and Hamas are proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK and other countries.
Hezbollah said an unspecified number of pagers – which the group relies on heavily for communications due to the risk of mobile phones being hacked or tracked – exploded at around 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) in the capital Beirut and many other areas.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also blamed Israel for the explosions, saying that they represented a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards”.
