Iran vows revenge for pager blitz as Israel stands on brink of WAR with Lebanon…& Hezbollah fear what might blow up next
IRAN has vowed revenge for Israel’s double sabotage blitz as its proxy Hezbollah has been left reeling by the surprise attack.
Israel has seized the initiative and moved thousands of troops to the north of the country as analysts believe it could be set to invade Lebanon.
Thousands have been left injured and at least 32 dead in two sabotage strikes that has left victims with missing eyes, fingers, and chunks blown out of legs.
Iran has hit back at the country and accused Israel of “mass murder”, describing Tuesday’s surprise pager attack as “terrorism”.
The Islamic Republic has threatened Israel saying it “reserves its rights under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond.”
Tehran’s ambassador lost an eye in the hit and has been flown back to the country for treatment.
Israel has also revealed today to have foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Defence Minister.
Israeli spies’ targeted proxy Hezbollah which was also hammered in a second sabotage strike Wednesday that hit walkie-talkies.
The terror group has sent its own chilling threat, telling Israel to expect “fair punishment”.
Analysts now fear Israel could be setting the groundwork for an invasion of Lebanon as it seeks to defeat Hezbollah.
The Saudi ambassador to the UK said Wednesday night the Middle East is the closest its been to a regional war since the 1970s.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud told Sky News the region is “moving further and further away from where we need to be.”
Beirut locals have been left fearing any electronics could explode and are taking precautions like getting fire extinguishers for their home.
Journalist Hassan Harfoush told the Daily Mail: “Beirut has collapsed into panic. The WhatsApp groups are going non-stop.
“There are wild rumours doing the rounds that solar panels might explode, batteries, fridges – anything.”
Harfoush said that the explosions had caused “fear and carnage” to spread across the city.
He said: “We’re all really scared; there is no safe place any more. Everyone knows what these explosions can do.
“In a Beirut hospital, I saw a man whose flesh had been torn from his face, the bones gruesomely visible. He was still conscious.”
Lebanon’s Civil Aviation says all airlines operating at Beirut Airport must prohibit passengers from carrying any pager or walkie-talkie devices.
Shocking footage shows the moment a device blows up just centimetres away from a man working in a Lebanese phone shop.
New footage shows the two workers in a phone shop jumping back as a white device explodes just centimetres from them.
The device bursts into flames and flies across the room making the workers slide back in their chairs to avoid being hit.
The explosion in Beirut happened during Israel’s second surprise strike yesterday after a wave of remote-controlled pager blasts on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a second wave of explosions ripped across Lebanon killing 20 and injuring 450 as a series of walkie-talkies detonated.
The sabotage also hit other types of electronics with phones, solar energy systems and fingerprint reading devices all blowing up.
One of the latest explosions struck a Hezbollah funeral for a child and three militants who were killed on Tuesday.
Israel has yet to officially claim responsibility for the deadly double-tap hack but it has deployed troops to the northern border with Lebanon.
The device blasts will further stoke tensions in the Middle East in what officials fear could be a “pre-emptive strike” ahead of a wider escalation.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant declared the start of a “new phase” of war on Wednesday and praised the work of Israeli security agents as “very impressive” after IDF troops began moving north.
Gallant said: “The centre of gravity is moving north. We are diverting forces, resources, and energy toward the north.”
His announcement came as it was revealed the IDF’s crack 98th Division was being redeployed to northern Israel after fighting for months in Gaza.
The division is made up of Israel’s most hardened combat troops and commandos specialising in taking and holding ground.
Experts say their arrival is the clearest sign yet that PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon could be under way.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return all evacuated citizens to the northern border areas.
Local reports said a number of wireless devices exploded in Baalbek, northeast of Lebanon capital Beirut, after their owners threw them into the streets on Wednesday evening.
Solar equipment, fingerprint devices and radios also reportedly exploded in the city and other parts of Lebanon.
The White House said it is too soon to tell whether the explosions will affect ongoing ceasefire talks in Gaza.
Analysts believe the new attack was the second phase or an Israeli masterplan to paralyse their Lebanese enemy’s communication before launching a massive attack.
Where did the pagers come from?
By James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter
Iranian proxy Hezbollah ordered the pagers months ago but never thought the quaint piece of tech could be tampered with.
Hezbollah shifted to pagers after the group’s leader told members to stop using phones in February over fears they could be tracked by Israeli spies.
A senior Lebanese security source said the group had ordered 5,000 beepers made by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, which were brought into the country in the spring.
But Gold Apollo told media in Taipei today the specific order was manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT in Budapest.
Gold Apollo boss Hsu Ching-kuang said BAC asked to manufacture their own pagers with the company’s trademark and they were paid from a mystery Middle Eastern bank account, NPR reports.
BAC Consulting chief executive Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono confirmed to media that her company worked with Gold Apollo.
But said, “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate.”
At some point during the manufacture, the devices were modified by Israel’s spy service with a small amount of explosive.
The AR-924 pager is described as being “rugged” and contains a rechargeable lithium battery with 85 days of battery life.
Their longevity would be important in Lebanon which has suffered major power outages.
Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies and harder for Israel to hack digitally.
The affected pagers were only delivered to Hezbollah recently, but other associates of the group were also injured, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon.