The Israeli military has launched a new wave of attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday, after two days of device explosions that left the Middle East fearing all-out war.
The attack on southern Lebanon on Thursday involved airstrikes and artillery, an Israeli official told foreign media, after two days of explosions that killed at least 37 people, including two children, and injured thousands more.
The Israel Defense Forces announced the strikes – which it said were aimed at degrading the group’s “capabilities and infrastructure” – just as the leader of the Iran-backed militant and political group began a much-anticipated response to the stunning attacks using walkie-talkies and pagers.
Two soldiers were killed in combat in northern Israel, the IDF said.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health reported that four people were injured in raids on a town in southern Lebanon, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The country’s health minister early on Thursday said at least 37 people, including two children, were killed and thousands more injured across Lebanon.
As the world urged against further escalation after months of devastating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel indicated its focus had shifted to its northern border with Lebanon, declaring a “new phase” to its simmering monthslong conflict with Hezbollah.
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke to this “new phase” in a video posted to X, noting that it will bring both risk and benefits. He warned that Hezbollah will pay an “increasing price” as time goes on.
“Hezbollah feels that it is being persecuted, and the sequence of military actions will continue,” Gallant said. “Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes.”
In Lebanon, the attacks left Hezbollah in disarray and an already beleaguered country rattled, with hospitals overwhelmed and the public fearful that mobile phones or other devices may explode.
In a speech Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said, “there is no doubt that we have been exposed to a major and severe security and humanitarian blow,” referring to the device explosions as an unprecedented “terrorist” attack, and noting that the explosions of roughly 4,000 devices wounded civilians, not just Hezbollah members.
He went on to call it an act of war against Lebanon, but did not specify how or when Hezbollah would retaliate.
Nasrallah said, “The enemy has crossed all red lines and all laws in this attack,” vowing that Israelis would not be able to achieve their goal of repopulating Israel’s evacuated northern areas without ending its military “aggression,” and reiterated that Hezbollah “will not stop before the aggression on Gaza stops.”
As Nasrallah delivered his speech, Israeli warplanes flew over Beirut, breaking the sound barrier with sonic booms shaking the capital, in what appeared to be a show of might.
The Lebanese Army said on Thursday that specialized units were detonating “pagers and suspicious communication devices in various areas,” warning the public to stay away from the blast sites and report any suspicious devices without approaching them.
