MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. The situation in the Middle East has escalated after numerous explosions of communication devices in Beirut and other areas of Lebanon on September 17 and 18.
The leadership of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attacks. IIsrael, in turn, announced a transition to a new stage of the military campaign, which until now had been focused on the Gaza Strip, and shifted the main military efforts to the north, to the border with Lebanon.
TASS has compiled the main information about the situation in the region.
Exchange of blows
Armed units of the Hezbollah group launched rocket attacks on Israeli troop positions in the occupied Golan Heights and Upper Galilee. The attacks came about half an hour before Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was due to speak Thursday night.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets simulated a raid on Beirut during the broadcast of the Hezbollah chief’s speech. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to "degrade Hezbollah's terrorist capabilities and infrastructure." The IDF explained that the military is acting to "bring security to northern" of Israel, which will "enable the return of residents to their homes." More than 80,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in northern Israel.
According to the IDF, two Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting in northern Israel, while another soldier was seriously injured and evacuated to a hospital.
The constant shelling of the Lebanon-Israel border continued amid Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah chief statements
Israel is planning to carry out a massacre in various parts of Lebanon by blowing up civilian communications equipment, Hezbollah leader Nasrullah said in a televised statement. These actions, he said, would be considered "crossing all red lines" and a "major terrorist operation." Nasrullah said that as far as Lebanon is concerned, this "means a de facto declaration of war. He also said that Hezbollah will continue to attack Israel in support of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, regardless of the possible consequences and losses. The establishment of a security zone in southern Lebanon will not stop Hezbollah's armed resistance because its fighters are trying to lure Israeli troops into Lebanese territory, the Hezbollah leader pointed out.
Israeli position
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said he held a telephone conversation with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, and discussed with him countering threats from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, as well as the Israeli military's actions on the border with Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip. Gallant added that he commended Austin for his "unwavering commitment to the security" of the country and his "contribution to the US-Israel alliance."
IDF Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevy approved plans to continue the operation on the northern border.
Explosions of communication devices
On September 17 and 18, numerous explosions of communication devices occurred in Lebanon. On the first day, a large number of pagers detonated almost simultaneously in different parts of Lebanon. According to the country’s Health Ministry, as a result of the incident 12 people were killed, including two children, and 2,800 injured were taken to hospitals. The next day, walkie-talkies, telephones, and solar and lithium-ion battery-powered devices exploded in different parts of Lebanon. A second attack killed 25 people and injured 608.
According to Reuters, the radios were purchased by the Hezbollah movement about five months ago, almost simultaneously with the pagers, hundreds of which exploded in Lebanon on September 17. According to The New York Times, Israel set up a front company posing as an international pager manufacturer.