On Wednesday, Hezbollah pledged to revenge Israel as hundreds of paging devices used by militant group members exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon.
Israel had no immediate reaction on the explosives, which killed nine people, including the 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member, and injured over 2,800 others.
Israel had stated hours earlier that it was expanding the scope of the conflict sparked by Hamas’ October 7 attacks to include a struggle against the Palestinian militant group’s affiliate Hezbollah.
“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that Israel “will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression”.
On Wednesday, the group vowed in another statement on Telegram it would continue its fight in support of Gaza while reiterating it would avenge Tuesday’s attack.
“This path is ongoing and separate from the difficult reckoning that the criminal enemy must await for its massacre on Tuesday,” it said.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will make a speech at 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Thursday.
The wave of blasts killed nine people, including a girl, and wounded 2,800 others, 200 of them critically, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said Tuesday.
“This was more than lithium batteries being forced into override,” said Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute.
“A small plastic explosive was almost certainly concealed alongside the battery, for remote detonation via a call or page.”
Israel’s spy agency “Mossad infiltrated the supply chain”, he said.
Hospitals overwhelmed
The influx of so many casualties all at once overwhelmed hospitals in Hezbollah strongholds on Tuesday.
At one hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs, an AFP correspondent saw people being treated in a car park on thin mattresses, with medical gloves on the ground and ambulance stretchers covered in blood.
“In all my life I’ve never seen someone walking on the street… and then explode,” said Musa, a resident of the southern suburbs, requesting to be identified only by his first name.
The 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed in east Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley when his pager exploded, according to her relatives and a source close to the group.
A son of Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar was also killed, according to a source close to the group who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive subjects.
Tehran’s envoy in Beirut was injured, although not seriously, according to Iranian state media.
Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah, accused Israel of “mass murder” on Wednesday, with foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani condemning Israel’s “terrorist act”.
The incident dealt a significant blow to the terrorist group, which had already expressed concerns about the security of its communications after losing several important commanders to targeted air attacks in recent months.
A source close to Hezbollah, who requested anonymity, told AFP that “the pagers that exploded concern a shipment recently imported by Hezbollah of 1,000 devices” that appear to have been “sabotaged at source”.
After The New York Times reported that the pagers had been ordered from Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, the business responded that they had been manufactured by its Hungarian partner BAC Consulting KFT.
Lufthansa and Air France have declared a suspension of flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, and Beirut until Thursday.
Israel expands war aims
Hours before the raid, Israel declared that it was expanding the scope of the Gaza conflict to include a fight against Hezbollah on its border with Lebanon.
To yet, Israel’s objectives have been to smash Hamas and return the hostages kidnapped by Palestinian militants after the October 7 strikes.
Since October, unrelenting clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed hundreds, principally combatants in Lebanon, and scores of Israeli soldiers.
They have also driven tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that if a political solution is not reached, “military action” will be “the only way left to ensure the return” of displaced inhabitants to the border area.
Blinken in Cairo
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the region at dawn on Wednesday to try to restart stalled ceasefire talks for the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
After months of mediated negotiations failed to secure a cease-fire, Washington said it was still working with mediators Qatar and Egypt to reach an accord.
US officials have grown more frustrated with Israel after Netanyahu publicly rejected US estimates that a deal is virtually finalized and insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the conflict killed 1,205 people, the majority of them were civilians, according to an AFP assessment based on official Israeli numbers.
Militants also took 251 captives, 97 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 33 who the Israeli military claims are dead.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, Israel’s retaliatory military onslaught has killed at least 41,252 individuals, with no split of civilian and militant dead.
On Tuesday, UN member states debated a draft resolution demanding that Israel terminate its occupation of all Palestinian areas within 12 months.
Although General Assembly decisions are not legally enforceable, Israel has immediately condemned the revised text as “disgraceful”.