Hezbollah exploding pagers latest: Israel braces for retaliation after 9 killed in Lebanon attack

It appeared too extraordinary to be actual.

At round 3.45pm native time, a whole lot of pagers started spontaneously exploding throughout Lebanon and elements of Syria killing no less than eight folks, together with a baby and injuring 2800 others.

Among the many wounded are fighters within the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, medics and even Iran’s envoy to Beirut.

The movies – shared on-line – which purportedly confirmed the second these explosions occurred, are much more weird and raised additional questions. Males in supermarkets, at vegetable stalls and on bikes, are seen immediately being knocked to the bottom by the highly effective blasts.

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In what seems to be a classy, distant assault, pagers utilized by a whole lot of members of Hezbollah exploded nearly concurrently in Lebanon and Syria Tuesday, killing no less than 9 folks — together with a younger lady — and wounding hundreds extra.

The Iran-backed militant group blamed Israel for the lethal explosions, which focused a rare breadth of individuals and confirmed indicators of being a long-planned operation. How the assault was executed is essentially unsure and investigators haven’t instantly mentioned how the pagers have been detonated. The Israeli navy has declined to remark.

Right here’s what we all know thus far.

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Lebanon’s well being minister informed the BBC that a lot of the accidents from Tuesday’s pager explosions had been to the arms and face.

Most “seem like to the face and particularly to the eyes, and in addition the hand with some amputations, whether or not it’s within the arms or the fingers,” he informed the BBC’s Newshour programme.

He added that the “overwhelming majority” presenting to emergency rooms are in civilian garments, saying this makes it “very tough to discern whether or not they belong to a sure entity like Hezbollah or others”.

“However we’re seeing amongst them people who find themselves previous or people who find themselves very younger, just like the baby who sadly died, and there are a few of them who’re well being care employees.”

Shaped in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, it is among the strongest members of the Iran-allied alliance, militarily and organizationally.

A Shiite Muslim group, it took half in repeated assaults towards the US by the mid-Nineties, together with the lethal 1983 bombing of a US Marines barrack in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital.

It has participated in Lebanon’s authorities since 1992 whereas its navy wing is stronger than the nation’s armed forces.

A 2006 struggle with Israel provoked by Hezbollah’s kidnapping of Israeli troopers devastated southern Lebanon and Beirut, and lots of unusual Lebanese are deeply afraid of a brand new struggle with Israel within the wake of the Gaza combating.

Cautious of a repeat of the struggle itself, Hezbollah has lobbed rockets and missiles throughout its southern border into Israel for the reason that begin of the struggle in Gaza, dropping fighters each day in return hearth, however held again from additional dramatic escalation.

Air France is suspending providers from the French capital’s Charles de Gaulle airport to Beirut and Tel Aviv as much as and together with 19 September as a consequence of escalating safety considerations within the Center East, the airline mentioned on Tuesday.

The operations will resume following an evaluation of the scenario, Air France added.

Earlier within the day, Lufthansa Group mentioned it’s suspending all connections to and from Tel Aviv and Tehran and can bypass Israeli and Iranian airspace as much as and together with Sept. 19.

The casualties included Hezbollah fighters who’re the sons of high officers from the armed group, two safety sources informed Reuters. A type of killed was the son of a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar, they mentioned.

“This isn’t a safety focusing on of 1, two or three folks. This can be a focusing on of a complete nation,” senior Hezbollah official Hussein Khalil mentioned whereas paying his condolences for Ammar’s son.

Tuesday’s blasts added to a hefty value paid over the previous 12 months by Hezbollah. The group has misplaced greater than 400 fighters in Israeli strikes, together with its high commander Fuad Shukr in July. Safety sources in Lebanon mentioned two extra Hezbollah fighters have been killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

The airline Lufthansa have introduced they’re suspending flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran with rapid impact.

In a press release, they mentioned: “Because of the current change within the safety scenario, the Lufthansa Group airways have determined to droop all connections to and from Tel Aviv (TLV) and Tehran (IKA) with rapid impact. This is applicable as much as and together with September 19. Throughout this era, the Israeli and Iranian airspace may also be bypassed by all Lufthansa Group Airways.

“The Lufthansa Group continues to watch the scenario intently and can assess it additional within the coming days.”

Hezbollah and the Lebanese authorities have been fast accountable Israel for the practically simultaneous detonation of a whole lot of pagers utilized by the militant group’s members in an assault Tuesday that killed no less than 9 folks and wounded practically 3,000 others, based on officers.

Lots of these hit have been members of militant group Hezbollah, but it surely wasn’t instantly clear if others additionally carried the pagers. Amongst these killed have been the son of a outstanding Hezbollah politician and an 8-year-old lady, based on Lebanon’s well being minister.

The assault got here amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have exchanged hearth throughout the Israel-Lebanon border for the reason that Oct. 7 assault by Hamas that sparked the struggle in Gaza. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was amongst these injured by the pager explosions.

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The group claimed the assault, which struck at 3.30pm native time, was perpetrated by Israel, an allegation that Israel refused to handle, in line with its coverage on assaults occurring exterior of its personal territory.

The Lebanese well being minister Firas al-Abyad mentioned 9 folks had been killed, together with an eight-year-old lady, after the pagers exploded throughout Lebanon and within the Syrian capital of Damascus, the place Hezbollah have stationed a few of its members. One other 2,800 have been wounded, the minister mentioned, together with 400 who have been critically injured.

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The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is braced for a response after Hezbollah accused Israel of being behind the detonation of handheld pagers that has killed no less than 9 and injured hundreds.

Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, the IDF’s chief of employees, insisted that they continue to be prepared “for assault and defence in all arenas”. He declined nonetheless to mentioning the pager assaults which occurred throughout Lebanon and in elements of Syria, and Israel has not responded to accusations they’re accountable.

“We’ll replace instantly on any change to [Home Front Command guidelines],” the IDF added.