Hezbollah walkie talkie blasts: 20 dead and 450 injured in new wave of explosions as Israel blamed for pager attack

Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israeli artillery positions Wednesday, marking its first strike against Israel since the recent blasts that killed dozens in Lebanon.

The Israeli military reported no damage or casualties from the rocket attacks.

Hezbollah’s move comes amid heightened tensions between the two adversaries, who have been engaged in cross-border fighting since the Gaza conflict began on 7 October 2023.

Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director of research at the Carnegie Middle East Center, noted that while Hezbollah seeks to avoid all-out war, pressure may mount for a more robust response given the scale of recent events.

This latest escalation has fueled concerns of a broader Middle East conflict, potentially drawing in the United States and Iran.

According to official counts, the previous highest daily Lebanese death toll was 11, resulting from Israeli shelling last month.

The attack – described by Hezbollah as its “largest security breach” in nearly a year of near-daily cross-border fire with Israel – has heightened tensions in the Middle East as Hezbollah vowed revenge.

On Wednesday, more explosions have been heard in Beirut and other cities with reports walkie-talkie devices had been detonated.

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A new wave of explosions rocked Lebanon’s south on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people.

This time, hand-held walkie talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, injuring more than 450 in Beirut’s suburbs and the Bekaa Valley.

The explosions, coming after Tuesday’s attack targeting pagers, have stoked renewed tensions amid cross-border fighting with Israel.

The death toll from Tuesday’s pager blasts has now risen to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured.

Israeli officials have not commented on the blasts, but security sources said Israel’s spy agency Mossad was responsible. One Hezbollah official said the episode was the biggest security breach in the group’s history.

The operations, which appeared to throw Hezbollah into disarray, 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 UK has reaffirmed its stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, emphasising the need for Israel to comply with international humanitarian law.

A Foreign Office spokesperson stressed that Israel’s right to self-defence must be balanced with the protection of civilians and adherence to humanitarian principles.

The spokesperson expressed regret that concerns raised by the UK and other allies have not been adequately addressed.

“Our priority remains achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, the hostages released, civilians protected and aid flood in.

“There is no place in Britain for antisemitism, and we will not relent in our work to root out hatred in all forms.

“This government is committed to multi-year funding for the Community Security Trust, and working with the Jewish community and police to ensure that everyone feels safe on our streets.”

Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is waging “just war with just means” and claimed it is taking “unprecedented measures to keep civilians out of harm’s way and comporting fully with international law”.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “After the October 7 Hamas massacre, the previous British government was clear in its support.”

He also told the newspaper: “Most recently, the new UK government suspended 30 arms licences to Israel, days after Hamas executed six Israeli hostages, sending a horrible message to Hamas.

“These misguided decisions will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organisation that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens, and took 255 people, including five British hostages.

“Just as Britain’s heroic stand against the Nazis is seen today as having been vital in defeating barbarism, so too will history judge Israel’s stand against Hamas and Iran’s axis of terror. Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”

Mr Netanyahu also said the UK is “witnessing shameless antisemitism on its campuses, at its city centres and in many parts of the country”, adding: “It is worrisome. I trust and expect that the UK leadership will take the necessary steps to root out this scourge.”

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government were quick to blame Israel for the nearly simultaneous detonation of hundreds of pagers used by the militant group’s members in an attack Tuesday that killed at least nine people and wounded nearly 3,000 others, according to officials.

Many of those hit were members of militant group Hezbollah, but it wasn’t immediately clear if others also carried the pagers. Among those killed were the son of a prominent Hezbollah politician and an 8-year-old girl, according to Lebanon’s health minister.

The attack came amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have exchanged fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among those injured by the pager explosions.

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Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the UK government of sending “mixed messages” over its support for Israel and “undermining” the country’s right to self-defence.

Israel’s prime minister criticised the new Labour administration for suspending around 30 arms exports to Israel amid concerns they could be used in violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has also dropped the previous Conservative government’s plan to challenge the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) application for an arrest warrant against Mr Netanyahu.

Both decisions have caused diplomatic tensions with Israel, which launched a counter-attack in Gaza after Hamas-led militants broke into Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted around 250 others.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the counter-attack, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Wednesday with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant to review regional security developments and reiterate US support for Israel in the face of threats from Iran, Hezbollah and other Iranian allies, the Pentagon said.

Taiwan’s national security agencies are closely monitoring the recent detonation of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, defence minister Wellington Koo said.

The incident has drawn Taiwan into the spotlight due to links to a Taiwanese firm, Gold Apollo, which allegedly produced the pagers. However, Gold Apollo denied involvement, stating that the devices were manufactured by a Budapest-based company licensed to use its brand.

“Relevant national security bodies are closely watching developments,” Mr Koo said in Taipei, adding they are “paying great attention” to this.

The Taiwanese government has not provided further details on its involvement or response to the situation.

What kind of a mind, one wonders, dreams up such a macabre lark as this, an “exploding cigar” practical joke on a grand scale?

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