Tag: lebanon

MORE Tech Devices Exploding Across Residential Areas Of Lebanon As Israeli Terror Attack Continues

After thousands of people were injured and many were killed by a wave of exploding pager devices on Tuesday, another attack was launched Wednesday.

Senior U.S. officials and Hezbollah leadership have both concluded Israel was obviously behind the deadly bombardment.

The first set of explosions appeared to only trigger beepers or pagers to detonate, but Wednesday’s bombings are reportedly coming from walkie-talkies, vehicles and even home solar energy systems.

Some of the devices were reportedly set off during a funeral for some of the people who were killed in Tuesday’s attack.

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Pagers in Hezbollah attack came from Budapest, rigged with 1-2 ounces of explosives: report

The pagers that blew up in a highly coordinated – and deadly – attack against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon Tuesday came from Budapest and were rigged with as little as one to two ounces of highly explosive material, according to a report.

The devices all exploded simultaneously Tuesday afternoon after receiving a message that triggered the detonation, killing at least nine people — including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding nearly 3,000 more. Among those injured was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that the US has designated a terrorist organization, ordered more than 3,000 of the latest models from Gold Apollo in Taiwan — most of them being the company’s AP924 model, American and other officials briefed on the operation told The New York Times.

Gold Apollo said Wednesday it authorized its brand on the pagers, but claimed that a company in Hungary manufactured them.

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Mossad Planted Bombs in 5,000 Hezbollah Pagers Months Before Deadly Detonations: Report

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has been accused of planting explosives in 5,000 pagers imported by Hezbollah, setting the stage for devastating detonations across Lebanon, according to Reuters, citing a senior Lebanese security source.

The carefully orchestrated attack targeted Hezbollah terrorists, killing at least 11 people, and more than 4,000 have been injured, including the Iranian envoy to Beirut, marking the “biggest security breach” the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror network has faced since its ongoing war with Israel began.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, has suffered severe injuries and has lost one eye. The question now is how an ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a Hezbollah pager.

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Hezbollah’s Exploding Pagers Could Be As Monumental A Cyber-Espionage Operation As Stuxnet

In an extraordinary development in the Middle East conflict, thousands of Hezbollah members have been injured and at least three people were killed after pagers that the militants used exploded simultaneously today. While exactly how this occurred remains unclear, it could very well be a monumental cyber attack that could have widespread implications far beyond the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Regardless, it should be a wake-up call.

While no one has so far taken responsibility, Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attack. A source from the group said that they expect the attack may have been launched in response to an alleged assassination attempt by the Lebanese militant group on a former senior Israeli security official. The existence of that plot was only revealed today by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.

At this stage, the total number of individuals killed or injured by the pager blasts is unclear. Hezbollah has confirmed the deaths of at least three people, including two of its fighters. 

At the time of writing, at least nine people have died and approximately 2,800 have been wounded, according to Lebanon’s Minister of Health Firas Abiad. Of the injured, 170 at least are also said to be in critical condition.

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Hezbollah hit by a wave of exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria. At least 9 dead, hundreds injured

Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people – including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding several thousand, officials said. They blamed Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack.

Among those wounded was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon. The mysterious incident 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.

The pagers that exploded had been newly acquired by Hezbollah after the group’s leader ordered members to stop using cell phones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence. A Hezbollah official told The Associated Press the pagers were a new brand the group had not used before.

At about 3:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, pagers started heating up and then exploding in the pockets and hands of those carrying them — particularly in a southern Beirut suburb and the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon where Hezbollah has a strong presence, and in Damascus, where several Hezbollah members were wounded, Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official said. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

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New Lebanon War Kicks Off As IDF Pounds Hezbollah Positions Overnight

The Israeli Defense Force struck at least 16 targets overnight against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, as the focus of The Jewish State turns from Gaza to the north of the country.

In four different areas in southern Lebanon: the IDF attacked about 30 launchers and military infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah that posed a threat to the citizens of the State of Israel, reported the IDF press office.

Air Force fighter jets attacked during the night in the areas of Al Jabin, A-Nakura, Deir Sirin and Zabkin in southern Lebanon, about 30 launchers and military infrastructures of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which posed a threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.

Also, IDF forces attacked with artillery in the A-Dahira area in southern Lebanon.

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Israel launches violent raids on southern Lebanon as China urges nationals to leave

Israeli forces intensified their cross-border attacks on Lebanon overnight Wednesday-Thursday with a series of 10 raids across eight different southern areas within 45 minutes, Lebanese media reported on Thursday.

The attacks took place around 1am local time, according to security sources, adding that the strikes targeted and destroyed several buildings in the Khiam, Kfarchouba, Mhaybib, Aita al-Chaab, Ghazziye, Ramiye, and Kaouthraiyet al-Sayyed, villages that lie about 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) past the Blue Line. No casualties were reported.

The Israeli military said that its air forces had hit more than 10 “Hezbollah targets” in different areas in southern Lebanon.

The army claimed on X that “among the targets attacked were weapons depots, military buildings, and a launcher used by Hezbollah to carry out operations against Israel”.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced it had targeted Israeli army barracks in northern Israel.

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Israel Airstrike Kills Hamas Leader in South Lebanon Port City of Sidon

Israel carried out an airstrike against a car in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon on Friday evening, killing Hamas leader Samer Mahmoud al-Haj. A bodyguard, who has not been identified, was critically wounded.

Haj worked in a nearby Palestinian refugee camp called Ayn al-Hilweh. The Israeli military and Shin Bet issued a joint statement claiming he was responsible for directing attacks against Israel and was “training terrorists” at the refugee camp.

Sidon is located deep in southern Lebanon, almost 38 miles over the border. Israel has been carrying out strikes against Sidon this year, although most have been against Hezbollah, not Hamas.

Israeli strikes against Hamas targets inside Lebanese territory are relatively rare, but often target high profile Hamas members, as in January when Saleh al-Arouri was killed. Arouri had been in charge of the critical hostage negotiations with Israel throughout the Gaza War. He was struck down in an attack in Beirut, the Lebanese capital city.

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Israel commits new massacre in south Lebanon as regional tensions spiral

The Israeli army committed a massacre in the southern Lebanese village of Maifadoun on 6 August.

Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Maifadoun, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. 

“An enemy drone raided, at around 10:05 am, a two-story house in the Al-Nadi neighborhood in the town of Maifadoun. Smoke rose, and ambulances headed to the scene,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday. 

Israeli warplanes also struck the town of Khiam on 6 August.

Hezbollah announced the deaths of four of its fighters after the Israeli attack on Maifadoun.

The Lebanese resistance movement had targeted Israeli forces in the Avivim settlement hours earlier in response to continued Israeli attacks on civilians in south Lebanon. 

“In response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and homes, the Islamic Resistance’s Mujahideen targeted a building used by enemy soldiers in the Avivim settlement on Tuesday 06-08-2024 with appropriate weapons and hit it directly,” the Lebanese resistance movement said in a statement. 

Hezbollah carried out several operations the day before, including suicide drone attacks on two Israeli army headquarters – launched in response to Israeli attacks and assassinations in the town of Bazouriye and Mays al-Jabal earlier this week. 

The resistance group said both attacks resulted in “confirmed casualties,” including deaths and injuries among the Israeli army’s ranks. 

Hezbollah has announced the deaths of several of its fighters in Israeli attacks since 4 August, as well as the killing of a civil defense paramedic affiliated with the resistance group’s Islamic Message Scouts Association. 

Tuesday’s massacre comes as regional tensions are at an all-time high following Israel’s assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 31 July and top Hezbollah war commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut residential building the day before. 

The attack on Beirut killed several civilians, including young children. 

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U.S. Poured Billions of Military Aid Into Lebanon. Now Israel Threatens to Invade.

Attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, the militia and political party based just across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, are fueling fears that a wider regional conflict may erupt any day.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia group loosely allied with Hamas, has been in a low-level war with Israel since the conflict in Gaza began last October. Hezbollah, which is believed to have an arsenal of more than 150,000 rockets and missiles, has repeatedly emphasized that attacks will continue as long as the war persists.

Over the weekend, a rocket attack that the U.S. and Israel said originated in Lebanon killed at least 12 civilians in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. The Israeli foreign minister said that the attack “crossed all red lines,” and said “the moment of all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon” is approaching. Hezbollah denied responsibility for the strike.

On Monday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken cautioned Israeli President Isaac Herzog about ramping up its war with Hezbollah in response on a call, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

But the conflict has been escalating for weeks. Israel has increased airstrikes aimed at the group. Current and former Israeli officials have also spoken publicly about shifting their attention from Hamas to the more powerful Hezbollah.

After Israeli officials warned of the possibility of launching a war that would send Lebanon “back to the Stone Age,” the Biden administration intensified diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions and forestall a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said could have “terrible consequences for the Middle East.”

The low-level war has created a tinderbox that could explode into a regional conflict involving Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Yemen and, to an even greater extent than now, the United States.

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