Israel 'hits 100 targets’ in strike against Hezbollah as group’s chief brands attacks on devices a ‘declaration of war’

19 September 2024, 23:50

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has said it has hit around 100 launchers and "hundreds" of launcher barrels belonging to militant group Hezbollah as tensions continue to rise in the Middle East.

These targeted strikes come in the wake of a week that has seen at least 37 people die after hand-held devices exploded in Lebanon.

In a statement shared on social media platform Telegram, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: "Over the last two hours, directed by IDF intelligence, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] struck hundreds of rocket launcher barrels that were ready to be used immediately to fire toward Israeli territory.

"Since this afternoon, the IAF has struck approximately 100 launchers and additional terrorist infrastructure sites, consisting of approximately 1,000 barrels that were ready to be used in the immediate future to fire toward Israeli territory.

"The IDF will continue to operate to degrade the Hezbollah terrorist organisation's infrastructure and capabilities in order to defend the state of Israel."

Read more: Pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon 'crossed all red lines' and are a 'declaration of war', says Hezbollah chief

Read more: At least nine killed and hundreds injured by exploding 'walkie-talkies' in second wave of blasts across Lebanon

As tensions continue to bubble over in the region, the UK has urged restraint, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Tonight I'm calling for an immediate ceasefire from both sides," Mr Lammy told Reuters.

Andrew Marr speaks to Lebanon's ambassador to the UK | Watch again

"We are all very, very clear that we want to see a negotiated political settlement so that Israelis can return to their homes in northern Israel and indeed Lebanese to return to their homes."

It came after Hezbollah's leader accused Israel of "crossing all red lines" after pager and walkie-talkie blast attacks in Lebanon, warning that they could be a "declaration of war".

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel of carrying out massacres, with the intention of killing "5,000 people in two minutes".

Some 4,000 pagers carried by Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday afternoon. A day later, 1,000 walkie-talkies exploded.

In his first address since the attacks, Nasrallah said "the enemy has actually crossed over all the red lines".

He went on to say: "We'll call them the 'Tuesday massacre' and the 'Wednesday massacre'.

"Many disasters were avoided, as many wounds were minor, and a number of these beepers were switched off, while others had not yet been distributed."

The explosions "happened in hospitals, in pharmacies, hospitals, in markets, in shops, in houses, in cars... in streets where many civilians were along with women and children", he said.

He added: "This could be called a declaration of war. We have received a very hard hit, but this is the state of war.

"Through this experience and its lessons, we will be stronger and more powerful."During the address, a sonic boom was heard over Beirut.

CCTV shows moment man's bag blows up in Lebanon during pager attack

Lebanese residents, already on edge following this week's blasts, were panicked fearing a major escalation.

Just before the speech, Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes against Hezbollah targets.The IDF confirmed that it had approved plans for the northern area in a statement.

The attacks across Lebanon amount to a 'war crime', the Lebanese ambassador to the UK has told LBC.

The claim from Rami Mortada comes as he told Tonight with Andrew Marr that Israel is actively trying to sabotage ceasefire efforts in the region.

"I think behind Lebanon there is another victim of the attack – the American effort to secure a ceasefire," Mr Mortada exclusively told LBC.

Speaking on Thursday following a second wave of explosions in Lebanon, Mr Mortada labelled the attacks a "violation to international humanitarian law".

"Lebanon don’t want an all out war," he insisted, flagging that if Israel continues with "this pattern of behaviour – [it] could drag whole region into it."

"It doesn’t matter whether they’re targeting an armed group or just ordinary civilians - because the attackers did not have prior knowledge of who was using these boobie-traps and [who] was in the vicinity or surroundings of these devices."

It comes as UK Foreign Foreign Secretary called on Brits to leave Lebanon “while commercial options remain” as tensions reach boiling point in the Middle East.

In a social media post on Thursday evening, David Lammy sent out a warning to British citizens in the region, highlighting the situation had the potential to "deteriorate rapidly".