Israel declares 'new phase of war' after second wave of explosions kills 20, as UK calls situation 'deeply disturbing'

19 September 2024, 07:51 | Updated: 19 September 2024, 08:04

Israel has declared a "new phase of war" after a second wave of explosions in Lebanon on Wednesday, as Downing Street called the situation "deeply disturbing".

At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 wounded when walkie talkies used by members of Hezbollah blew up yesterday.

It follows a similar incident affecting pagers a day earlier. Israel has been accused of the attack but has not yet taken responsibility.

The UK government said it was monitoring the situation in the Middle East "closely" following the second wave.

Former IDF spokesperson says Hezbollah 'could not be more vulnerable at this point in time'

Israel's defence minister declared a "new phase" of the regional war as it moves its focus to the north - near its border with Lebanon.

Benjamin Netanyahu has also accused the UK government of sending "mixed messages" - over its support for Israel and "undermining" the country's right to self-defence.

A security source said at least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organised by Hezbollah for four of those killed on Tuesday.

The funeral was just getting under way in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, when people started running - with early reports suggesting another device had exploded.

Home solar energy systems are also reported to have exploded in several areas of Beirut. Around 30 ambulance teams have been deployed and more are on "high alert and ready to intervene", the Red Cross said.

Israel attacked Hezbollah military facilties and a weapons depot in seven regions of Lebanon overnight on Thursday. Meanwhile five people in northern Israel were injured by Lebanese missiles.

It comes after tiny amounts of explosives were used to detonate thousands of pagers on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, including two children, an eight-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.

A security source said told Reuters that the hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago - around the same time the pagers were bought.

Nearly 3,000 people are believed to have been injured in the coordinated remote attack yesterday, with 200 still in critical condition.

Read more: ‘Israel hid small plastic explosives alongside Hezbollah pager batteries’ leaving 12 dead including two children

Read more: Why did the Hezbollah pagers explode and was Israel behind the deadly attack?

Israel has been accused of being behind the attack, with US officials claiming the devices were detonated earlier than planned amid concerns the secret operation might have been discovered by Hezbollah.

“It was a use it or lose it moment,” one official told Axios.

UN security general Antonio Guterres said the blasts appeared to be a precursor for something bigger between Israel and Hezbollah.

"The logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation," he said.

"These events confirm that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon and everything must be done to avoid that escalation."

John Kirby, a spokesman for the US national security council, said it was "too soon" to know whether the events of the last two days would impact a potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

When asked whether an all-out conflict in the Middle East is inevitable, he added: "Nothing is inevitable when it comes to that part of the world."

Speaking on LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak said he could not confirm that his country was behind this week's attacks on Lebanon.

"Israel never took responsibility for this event, I can't add to this," he said.

Mr Burak added that Israel has "no interest" in a full-scale war with Lebanon and Hezbollah.

But he said the deaths from the two blasts this week were a "pity" - not a "disaster."

"Even if some innocent people were killed, that's a pity," he said. "But unfortunately out of 5000 explosions, about 20 people killed. It's probably painful but that's not a disaster."

Israel has issued no comment on the explosions but experts have said the pagers must have been tampered with in a plot months in the making.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said it is vital all parties avoid taking steps that could further spread the conflict in the Middle East.

He said the US "did not know about" and was not involved in the attack and that the US remains steadfast in getting the ceasefire agreement "over the finish line”.

The New York Times reported that Hezbollah's pagers were compromised in a joint operation between Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and the IDF.

Hezbollah said on Wednesday that it had attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets in response to the pager bombs.

Read more: British-educated entrepreneur denies making Hezbollah's explosive pagers that killed 12 and maimed thousands

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

Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute said: “This was more than lithium batteries being forced into override. A small plastic explosive was almost certainly concealed alongside the battery, for remote detonation via a call or page. Mossad infiltrated the supply chain.”

Paul Christensen, an expert in lithium ion battery safety at Newcastle University, said the damage caused by the pager explosions seemed inconsistent with known cases of such batteries failing in the past.“What we’re talking about is a relatively small battery bursting into flames. We’re not talking of a fatal explosion here. I’d need to know more about the energy density of the batteries, but my intuition is telling me that it’s highly unlikely,” he said.

Israel is said to have tampered with the devices "at production level".

Hezbollah militants were reportedly issued the pagers after the group's leader ordered members in February to stop using mobile phones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence.

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said it authorised its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, but they were manufactured by a company based in Budapest.

The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary's capital, according to a statement by Gold Apollo.

The militant group had ordered 5,000 beepers "made in Europe" under a new licence from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, several sources told Reuters.

A second security source told Reuters that up to three grammes of explosives were hidden in the new pagers that went "undetected" by Hezbollah for months.

Harrowing footage emerged in the hours after the attack showing the pagers of Hezbollah members exploding in their pockets over a 30 minute period on Tuesday.

Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said the explosions killed a 10-year-old girl and critically injured 200.

“About 2,750 people were injured … more than 200 of them critically,” he said on Tuesday afternoon.

A Hezbollah spokesperson said it was the "biggest security breach yet".

A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded.

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Footage shared on social media showed pagers blowing up in people's pockets, and other images showed wounded victims of the blasts.

Iran's ambassador was also said to have been injured in the attack.

Hezbollah claimed that the pagers were blown up by Israel, with whom it has been trading blows for months.

The UN has branded the alleged attack "deplorable."

A statement read: "The Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, deplores today’s attack across Lebanon which left thousands injured, many critically, and is confirmed to have killed at least nine, including children.

"In accordance with international humanitarian law, she reminds all concerned actors that civilians are not a target and must be protected at all times. Even one civilian casualty is one too many.

"The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context. While the full impact of the attack is still unfolding, Hennis-Plasschaert urges all concerned actors to refrain from any further action, or bellicose rhetoric, which could trigger a wider conflagration that nobody can afford."

Read more: Hezbollah fires 'dozens' of missiles towards Israel, as fears grow of all-out war

Read more: UN says six Gaza workers killed in Israeli strike that left 14 dead, as IDF says 'precise' attack targeted terrorists

An official said that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries that had exploded.

The son of a member of Hezbollah's bloc in Lebanon's parliament was among those killed.

The sons of two other senior officials were wounded, a Hezbollah official said.

Prominent Hezbollah politician Ali Ammar spoke to the AP after his son, Mahdi, was killed.

"This is a new Israeli aggression against Lebanon," Mr Ammar said. "The resistance will retaliate in a suitable way at the suitable time."

Photos and videos from Beirut's southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.

In a statement, Palestinian militant group Hamas said: "We appreciate the struggle and sacrifices of our brothers in Hezbollah, and their insistence on continuing to support and back our Palestinian people in Gaza, and we affirm our full solidarity with the Lebanese people and our brothers in Hezbollah."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group's members not to carry mobile phones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes.

The United States has denied any involvement in the incident.

"I can tell you that the US was not involved in it," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

"The US was not aware of this incident in advance. And at this point, we're gathering information."

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza.

The clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah is one of the most heavily armed non-state groups in the world and is part of the government in Lebanon, with dozens of MPs in parliament.

It is thought to be a terrorist organisation by many, including certain Western governments, and has played a significant role in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Also on Wednesday, Netanyahu accused the UK Government of sending "mixed messages" over its support for Israel and "undermining" the country's right to self-defence.

Israel's prime minister criticised the new Labour administration for suspending around 30 arms exports to Israel amid concerns they could be used in violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also dropped the previous Conservative government's plan to challenge the International Criminal Court's (ICC) application for an arrest warrant against Mr Netanyahu.

Both decisions have caused diplomatic tensions with Israel, which launched a counter-attack in Gaza after Hamas-led militants broke into Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted around 250 others.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the counter-attack, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.