New Delhi: The prospect of an all-out war with Iran intensified as Israel launched a major attack in Lebanon on Thursday, the targets being several locations of terror group Hezbollah.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated the strikes just as Hezbollah delivered a televised speech condemning the pager and walkie-talkie attacks in the country during the last two days.
“The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponised civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields — having turned southern Lebanon into a war zone. The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes and achieve war goals,” IDF said in a post on X.
The attacks came at a time when Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was making a public address for the first time after thousands of explosions on booby-trapped radios and pagers hit the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
According to a Reuters report, sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook buildings in Beirut as Nasrallah’s broadcast was underway.
Israel had confirmed conducting airstrikes in southern Lebanon overnight. By afternoon, Hezbollah reported that the bombardment had resumed along the border region.
Hezbollah claimed the attacks on its communications equipment killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, leading to fears that a full-blown war was imminent.
Nasrallah delivered a stern warning for Israel, saying that the recent attacks could be a “declaration of war”.
“Israel violated red lines by detonating thousands of pagers. The enemy went beyond all controls, laws and morals… These attacks could be considered war crimes or a declaration or war, they could be called anything and they deserve to be called anything. Of course that was the intention of the enemy,” Nasrallah said.
Although Israel neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, several security sources felt that the operation was executed by Mossad, the country’s intelligence agency.
