The sabotage operation was an “unprecedented” attack by Israel, Hassan Nasrallah said
Israel committed a “massacre” Detonating thousands of pagers across Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said, describing the operation, widely attributed to Israel’s Mossad, as “a declaration of war.”
In a highly anticipated speech following this week’s attacks, Nasrallah accused Israel of committing a “massacre” Not taking into account civilian casualties.
“This is pure terrorism. We will call them the Tuesday massacre and the Wednesday massacre. These are war crimes or at least a declaration of war,” Nasrallah said. Noting that some of the devices had detonated in schools, hospitals and residential buildings, the Hezbollah chief said the operation had crossed the border. “all restrictions and red lines”.
“There is no doubt that we have suffered a major humanitarian and security blow, unprecedented in the history of our resistance,” He conceded. “We have been hit hard, but this is a state of war and we understand that the enemy has technological superiority.”
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 wave of explosions took place on Wednesday, this time affecting portable radios. As of Thursday, a total of 37 people had been killed, including at least two children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the blasts, American, Israeli and Lebanese sources have identified Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency as the culprit. Citing unnamed sources, the New York Times claimed Thursday that the Mossad had set up a fake company in Hungary to produce the devices under license from a Taiwanese firm. The pagers were filled with an explosive compound called PETN, which could be activated remotely, and were shipped to Lebanon starting in 2022, the paper said.
US officials told Axios on Wednesday that the Mossad intended to activate the pagers as the first strike in an all-out war against Hezbollah, but decided to detonate them earlier in case Hezbollah discovered the plot.
Immediately after Wednesday’s 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. “The centre of gravity is shifting northwards. We are diverting forces, resources and energy to the north.” he said, according to a statement posted on social media by his office.
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