The Israeli Defence Forces carried out intense airstrike in southern Lebanon late on Thursday after being accused of devising pager and walkie-talkie explosions that killed 37 people and wounded about 3,000 in the country.
In the Thursday operation, Israeli jets struck hundreds of multiple rocket-launcher barrels in over two hours in southern Lebanon that were set to be fired immediately towards Israel, said the IDF, reported Reuters.
The bombardment included over 52 strikes across southern Lebanon after 9 pm (local time), as per Lebanon’s state news agency NNA. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel Crossed ‘All Red Lines’
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in a televised address on Thursday, said the device explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday “crossed all red lines” when Lebanon was rocked with fresh Israeli strikes.
“The enemy went beyond all controls, laws and morals,” he said, adding the attacks “could be considered war crimes or a declaration of war.”
Lebanon and Hezbollah have accused Israel of carrying out the device explosion while Israel has not directly commented on the incident.
Nasrallah acknowledged that Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented blow” and vowed it would continue fighting and inflict a “just punishment”.
UN Security Council To Meet On Friday
The Lebanese mission to the United Nations has written a letter to the Security Council stating that Israel was responsible for detonating the devices via electronic messages and explosives implanted in them before they arrived in Lebanon.
The 15-member Security Council will meet on Friday over the blasts, reported Reuters. Ahead of the meeting, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the Security Council to take a firm stand to stop Israel’s “aggression” and “technological war”.
Qatar Airway Prohibits Carrying Pagers, Walkie-Talkies
Following the explosion in the two communication devices, Qatar Airway prohibited the carrying of pagers and walkie-talkies on board flights until further notice.
In a post on X reading “effective immediately”, the Airlines said: “Following the directive received from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Lebanon, all passengers flying from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) are prohibited from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on board flights.”
“The ban applies to both checked and carry-on luggage, as well as cargo, and will be enforced until further notice,” it added.
