Lebanon pager attacks are a 'war crime' and Israel is trying to sabotage ceasefire efforts, claims Lebanese ambassador

19 September 2024, 19:18 | Updated: 19 September 2024, 19:48

Pager and walkie-talkie 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 comes shortly after Israeli jets above Lebanon created a 'sonic boom' as they broke the sound barrier over Beirut - as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah made his speech.

He accused Israel of carrying out massacres, with the intention of killing "5,000 people in two minutes".

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

The first wave of explosions targetting Hezbollah pagers took place on Tuesday - an attack that rocked the Middle East and left 12 dead and nearly 2,700 injured.

Some 4,000 pagers carried by Hezbollah members exploded over the course of the afternoon, with 1,000 walkie-talkies then exploding just one day later.

The attacks on the communications equipment across both waves killed 37 people in total and wounded around 3,000 - with children among those hurt.

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

Speaking out following the second wave of explosions, the Lebanese ambassador told Marr: "What Lebanon witnessed on Wednesday and Tuesday is a major war crime, mounted by Israel according to the United Nations.

"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".

"So this is simultaneous and indiscriminate violations to international Humanitarian law," the ambassador insisted.

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

Highlighting a "pattern of behaviour" exhibited by Israel against Lebanon, the ambassador added: "We’ve seen it in Gaza also - in the last year and even before."

On Thursday, 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 IDF confirmed that it had approved plans for the northern area in a statement.

"For decades, Hezbollah has weaponised civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields," it said.

"The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes, as well as to achieve all of the war goals."

The two nations have been trading blows for months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

Recent weeks have seen a blanket of rockets rain down from Lebanon over northern Israel fired by Hezbollah.