Device explosions 'cross all red lines' – Hezbollah chief
The Independent|September 20, 2024
Tensions rise as Israel launches major strikes on Lebanon after two days of detonating group’s pagers and walkie-talkies
COSETTE MOLIJN & BEL TREW
Device explosions 'cross all red lines' – Hezbollah chief

Hezbollah has accused Israel of crossing “all red lines” with its deadly detonation of walkie-talkies and pagers, as Israeli forces launched a fresh wave of strikes across Lebanon.

Sonic booms from low-flying Israeli jets shook the buildings in Beirut during a televised speech by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in which he warned this week’s unprecedented action “could be called a declaration of war”.

Israel has yet to confirm or deny it was behind the remote explosions which killed at least 37 people, including two children. More than 3,000 people were also wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry, whose top medics told The Independent that they were struggling to treat such a huge influx of critical injuries.

The events have pushed an already simmering region to the brink of full-scale war, with concerns the attack might be a precursor to an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon. “In this operation, the enemy violated all laws and red lines,” Nasrallah said, from an unknown location. “This type of killing, targeting and crime may be unprecedented in the world,” he added.

He said that thousands of pagers used by Iran-backed Hezbollah had been targeted simultaneously, with some of the explosions happening in hospitals, pharmacies, markets, shops and streets busy with civilians, women and children.

The threat of an all-out war between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel had spiked in the weeks before this unprecedented attack, after nearly a year of clashes sparked by the Israeli war against another Tehran ally, Hamas, in Gaza.

Nasrallah admitted the attacks “dealt a painful and severe blow” but would not deter Lebanon’s armed factions who “will not stop before an end to the aggression on Gaza”.

“What happened … will only increase our strength, determination and presence,” he added, warning his forces will strike back “from where [Israel] does not expect”.

Denne historien er fra September 20, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 20, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE INDEPENDENTSe alt
Thousands of farmers set for 'tractor tax' protest
The Independent

Thousands of farmers set for 'tractor tax' protest

Thousands of farmers are set to descend on London on 19 November in protest against the government's extension of inheritance tax, after the Metropolitan Police gave the march the green light.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Rayner opens door to fourday week for council staff
The Independent

Rayner opens door to fourday week for council staff

The government has dropped official opposition to the introduction of a four-day working week by a local council, in a move that could pave the way for other local authorities to do the same.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 10, 2024
NHS 'in last-chance saloon' says former health secretary
The Independent

NHS 'in last-chance saloon' says former health secretary

The NHS is \"drinking in the last-chance saloon\", Labour's top health adviser has warned, saying it must stop asking for more money.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Warning for ministers over 'torture sentence' prisoners
The Independent

Warning for ministers over 'torture sentence' prisoners

Ministers have been accused of \"scaremongering\" after revealing they will not resentence thousands of prisoners trapped under indefinite jail terms.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 10, 2024
'I'm doing whatever it takes.for the team to be better'
The Independent

'I'm doing whatever it takes.for the team to be better'

Cheslin Kolbe, the Springboks' ultimate utility man, tells Harry Latham-Coyle about overcoming his diminutive size and difficult upbringing to make history with his 'brothers'

time-read
3 mins  |
November 09, 2024
'No excuses': England look to power past Aussie rivals
The Independent

'No excuses': England look to power past Aussie rivals

For England, Australia lurk like a snake in the Outback.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 09, 2024
The crisis at Arsenal points to something much deeper
The Independent

The crisis at Arsenal points to something much deeper

There's an example some modern coaches use to show a team has run out of ideas: it is when they start swinging in crosses, repeatedly, to no effect. Arsenal tried that 46 times against Inter on Wednesday. It isn't quite the 81 that David Moyes'

time-read
4 mins  |
November 09, 2024
Trump's victory will make Brexit even more painful
The Independent

Trump's victory will make Brexit even more painful

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in President Trump's Oval Office when the request arrives from Britain not to impose extra trade tariffs.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 09, 2024
British Airways owner IAG records 15% surge in profits
The Independent

British Airways owner IAG records 15% surge in profits

The owner of airlines British Airways and Aer Lingus has said its earnings soared in recent months due to \"the effectiveness of our strategy and group-wide transformation\".

time-read
1 min  |
November 09, 2024
Iranian operative tasked with assassination of Trump
The Independent

Iranian operative tasked with assassination of Trump

A fugitive Iranian government operative is accused of hiring a pair of New Yorkers he met in prison to carry out an assassination plot against a critic of the regime, and allegedly admitted to FBI agents that he had also been tasked with finding a hit squad to kill president-elect Donald Trump.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 09, 2024