Page 18 - Lebanon

UNSC meets for emergency session, says 'Lebanon on brink of catastrophe'

The meeting came amid an uptick in cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces

Weaponising ordinary devices violates international law: UN rights chief

Weaponising ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law, the United Nations human rights chief said Friday. Volker Turk told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council there must be an independent and transparent investigation of the two attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday where these devices exploded, reportedly killing 37 people and injuring more than 3,400 others. Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account, he said. Lebanon has blamed Israel for the attacks, which appeared to target Hezbollah militants but also saw many civilian casualties, including children. Hezbollah has fought many conflicts with Israel, including a war in 2006, and it has conducted near-daily strikes against Israel to support Hamas militants who attacked Israel on Oct. ...

Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike was on US wanted list

The Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs Friday was one of the Lebanese militant group's top military officials, in charge of its elite forces, and had been on Washington's wanted list for years. Ibrahim Akil, 61, was the second top commander of Hezbollah to be killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburb of Beirut in as many months, dealing a severe blow to the group's command structure. The strike Friday came as the group was still reeling from a widely suspected Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah communications earlier this week when thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously. The attack killed 12 people, mostly Hezbollah members, and injured thousands. Akil was a member of Hezbollah's highest military body, the Jihad Council, since 2008, and the head of the elite Radwan Forces. The forces also fought in Syria gaining experience in urban warfare and counterinsurgency. Israel has been attempting to push the fighters back from th

Highlights: Govt demands explanation from edible oil companies on rising prices

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Pager, walkie-talkie explosions hit Hezbollah: Israel declares ‘new phase’ in conflict

After pagers used by Hezbollah exploded on September 17, a fresh set of walkie-talkie blasts hit Hezbollah strongholds the following day. Watch the video to know the latest updates.

Hezbollah pounds northern Israel with 140 rockets after retaliation vows

Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets Friday, a day after the militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said. Israel's military said the rockets came in three waves Friday afternoon targeting sites along the ravaged border with Lebanon. Hezbollah said it had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they'd struck for the first time. Hezbollah said the rockets were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on villages and homes in southern Lebanon.

Taiwan, Bulgaria deny links to exploding pagers in Lebanon, probe underway

How or when the pagers were weaponised and remotely detonated remains a public mystery and the hunt for answers has involved Taiwan, Bulgaria, Norway and Romania

Thousands of exploding devices trigger Lebanon which has been on edge

Chris Knayzeh was in a town overlooking Lebanon's capital when he heard the rumbling aftershock of the 2020 Beirut port blast. Hundreds of tons of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrates had exploded, killing and injuring thousands of people. Already struggling with the country's economic collapse, the sight of the gigantic mushroom cloud unleashed by the blast was the last straw. Like many other Lebanese, he quit his job and booked a one-way ticket out of Lebanon. Knayzeh was in Lebanon visiting when news broke Tuesday that hundreds of handheld pagers had exploded across the country, killing 12, injuring thousands and setting off fires. Israel, local news reports said, was targeting the devices of the militant Hezbollah group. Stuck in Beirut traffic, Knayzeh started panicking that drivers around him could potentially be carrying devices that would explode. Within minutes, hospitals were flooded with patients, bringing back painful reminders of the port blast four years ago that kille

Before pager blasts, Israel told US about 'Lebanon operation': Top updates

Amid the tensions over pager explosions in Lebanon on Tuesday, US officials said that they were warned by Israel of a military operation in the region but not given any specifics

Israel warned US about operation in Lebanon but gave no details: Officials

Israel warned US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a call Tuesday that a military operation was going to take place in Lebanon but gave no details, US officials said Thursday. The same day of the call, in an attack widely blamed on Israel, thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants exploded. The call was one of four between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant this week as attacks have spiked between Israel and Hezbollah, fuelling worries that they could escalate into a wider regional war. The two spoke again later Tuesday, and the US has acknowledged being briefed following the attack. There was another call Wednesday, and they also spoke Sunday, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. The officials said the US did not get advance warning of the second wave of attacks, with walkie-talkie radios targeted Wednesday. At least 37 people were killed, including two children, and some 3,000 wounded in the two days of ...

Qatar Airways prohibits pagers, walkie-talkies on Lebanon flights

The airlines said that the restriction applies to checked and carry-on luggage, as well as cargo

Pagers' explosion in Lebanon sound global alarm for supply-chain security

Lebanese officials believe the gadgets were rigged with explosives as part of an elaborate attack allegedly by Israel

Hezbollah leader vows retaliation against Israel for attacks on devices

The leader of Hezbollah vowed on Thursday to keep up daily strikes on Israel despite this week's deadly sabotage of its members' communication devices, and said Israelis displaced from homes near the Lebanon border because of the fighting would not be able to return until the war in Gaza ends. Hezbollah and Israel launched fresh attacks across the border as Hassan Nasrallah spoke for the first time since the mass bombing of devices in Lebanon and Syria that he described as a severe blow and for which he promised to retaliate. The two days of attacks targeting thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies have been widely blamed on Israel, heightening fears that 11 months of near-daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel will escalate into all-out war. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks. During Nasrallah's speech, Hezbollah struck at least four times in northern Israel, and two Israeli soldiers were killed in a strike earlier in the day.

How Israel built modern-day trojan horse equipped for exploding pagers

In Lebanon, as Israel picked off senior Hezbollah commandos with targeted assassinations, their leader came to a conclusion: If Israel was going high-tech, Hezbollah would go low

News updates: Report of MSP panel to be made public soon, says central govt

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Hezbollah leader says device attack crossed 'red line,' fears of war mount

The leader of Hezbollah on Thursday said this week's deadly attack on the Lebanon-based militant group's communications devices was a severe blow that crossed a red line. Hassan Nasrallah said the group is investigating how the two-day attack, which killed more than 30, wounded thousands and was widely believed to be carried out by Israel. Yes, we were subjected to a huge and severe blow, Nasrallah said. The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines," he added. As usual, Nasrallah spoke by video from an undisclosed location. Hezbollah typically convenes a rally for supporters to watch his speeches on a big screen, but this time they did not.

Israel, Hezbollah exchange strikes as Nasrallah vows payback post attack

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged strikes along the border on Thursday as the militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed retaliation for attacks on the group's devices. He said Israel targeted thousands of pagers and detonated them at the same time crossing a red line". In his speech, the Hezbollah leader vowed retaliation against Israel over this week's explosions in Lebanon saying the enemy will face a severe and fair punishment from where they expect and don't expect. While its leader Nasrallah was speaking, Hezbollah announced four strikes on northern Israel. The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group defied Israel's leaders on Thursday that they will not be able to return tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes to northern Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues.

Israel declares new phase of war, turns focus toward Lebanon, Hezbollah

Israel's defence minister has declared the start of a new phase of the war as Israel turns its focus toward the northern front against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Two waves of explosive attacks hit Syria and Lebanon: an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah that killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000 on Tuesday, and exploding walkie-talkies and other electronics Wednesday across Lebanon that killed at least 20 people and injured 450 others. We are at the start of a new phase in the war - it requires courage, determination and perseverance, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Wednesday. The head of Hezbollah's Executive Council promised the group would respond to Tuesday's pager explosion attack with special punishment. Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas' October 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several

Hezbollah fires volley at Israel as fears of greater war rise after bombing

Hezbollah fired a new barrage into northern Israel on Thursday, continuing its drumbeat of exchanges with the Israeli military as fears of a greater war rise after hundreds of electronic devices exploded in Lebanon, killing at least 32 people and wounding more than 3,000 others. The device explosions appeared to be the culmination of a monthslong operation by Israel to target as many Hezbollah members as possible all at once. Over two days, pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, wounding and even crippling some fighters, but also maiming civilians connected to the group's social branches and killing at least two children. It was unclear how the attack fit into warnings by Israeli leaders in recent weeks that they could launch a stepped-up military operation against Hezbollah, Lebanon's strongest armed force. The Israeli government has called it a war aim to end the Iranian-backed group's crossborder fire in order to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to ...

After explosions in Lebanon, is Israel preparing for war with Hezbollah?

With Israel's defense minister announcing a new phase of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before. Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict appear to be fading quickly as Israel signals a desire to change the status quo in the country's north, where it has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah since the Lebanese militant group began attacking on Oct. 8, a day after the war's opening salvo by Hamas. In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country's security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal. Here's a look at how Israel is preparing for a war with Lebanon: Troops drawn from Gaza to the northern border While the daily fighting between Israe