The IDF has launched a wave of airstrikes, in what Israeli officials call “a new phase” of the war.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombarded southern Lebanon with airstrikes on Thursday afternoon, two days after thousands of Hezbollah pagers exploded in an apparent Israeli sabotage operation. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has stated that the attacks “a declaration of war.”
Thousands of pagers, a low-tech and supposedly safe method of communication used by Hezbollah members, exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing a dozen people and wounding 3,000 others. A second round of explosions took place on Wednesday, this time affecting portable radios. As of Thursday, a total of 37 people have been killed, including at least two children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the blasts, US, Israeli and Lebanese sources have identified Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency as the culprit.
Immediately after the explosions, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that “a new stage” The war that Israel had been waging for almost a year was beginning, but this time it was focused on Hezbollah rather than Hamas.
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