Lebanon is on edge after thousands of electronic devices exploded across the country over the past two days, leaving 32 dead and more than 2,000 people injured.
In what appears to be a highly-targeted operation, which security sources claim is the work of Mossad, the Israeli spy agency, electronic pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday, while on Wednesday, it was walkie-talkies. The escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah comes as Israel declared a “new phase” of its war against the Iranian-backed militia.
‘We’re not scared, we’re just tired’
Beirut’s main roads were packed during this morning’s rush hour and there was little sign of the pandemonium of the last two days.
Most of the people The Times approached did not want to talk about the attacks. Many of those who did refused to give their names.
“We’re not scared, we’re just tired,” a middle-aged taxi driver waiting for customers on a street corner said. People expressed concern at what the developments might mean for the weakened economy or ailing tourism industry. “But scared? No,” said the man who lives in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs and heard the blasts yesterday but offered no more details.
“Wait until Hassan Nasrallah speaks,” he said, referring to the party’s leader who is due to give a speech later today. “We won’t know anything until then.”
Bulgaria to investigate company linked with pagers
Bulgaria will investigate a company linked to the sale to Hezbollah of pagers that exploded this week.
Bulgaria’s state security agency, DANS, said in a statement that it is working with the interior ministry to investigate the role of a company registered in the country, without naming it.
It said that it did not detect any shipments of the suspected pagers on Bulgarian territory.
Beirut shopkeeper unfazed by attacks
Kevor opened his photography and electronics shop in western Beirut as usual today. “I know I will not be affected,” the 44-year-old said, adding: “As a Lebanese I’m used to this.” What happened yesterday was “extraordinary”, he conceded, “but every day there is something else. I’ve already been through so much in my life”.
He said he had no intention of changing his working practices. He asked: “Why would anyone target me? I care about football, not politics.”
Damage from a radio device that exploded in Baalbek, Lebanon, during the attacks yesterday
SULEIMAN AMHAZ/GETTY IMAGES
Beirut airport bans pagers and walkie-talkies on flights
Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, the country’s only commercial airport, has banned passengers from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on board any aircraft, it announced today.
The Lebanese National News Agency reported that the ban will be enforced until further notice and applies to checked and carry-on luggage as well as cargo. Any such devices found will be immediately confiscated, officials said.
People outside Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport
MOHAMED AZAKIR/REUTERS
Now we’re afraid of phones and laptops, says Beirut local
Shops remained open in Beirut despite the raised tensions. Ziad Tabbara, a 61-year-old man who runs a boutique menswear shop in western Beirut, had no intention of closing and is more concerned by stagnant profits amid a five-year economic crisis in Lebanon.
The news of the last two days was concerning, he said, adding: “Now we’re afraid of things that are not meant to scare us, like phones and laptops.” However, he said that he had more pressing priorities on his mind: “Our ‘resistance’ right now is just to get food to eat.”
How did Israel target pagers?
Turning pagers into explosive devices was “the stuff of films”, according to one UK official
Experts say Israeli intelligence was likely planning the complex operation, which has left the militant group humiliated and depleted, for months.
The devices used to kill and wound thousands of Hezbollah fighters devices were doctored by spies, then sold by a “front” in Europe before they arrived in Lebanon.
• Read in full: Mossad’s audacious attack examined
Palestinian Authority’s president set to meet Spanish PM
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s president, is scheduled to meet Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, in Madrid today.
It is Abbas’s first visit to the country since the Spanish formally recognised a Palestinian state in May. He is due to be received by King Felipe VI, according to officials, before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Beirut locals criticise decision to keep schools open
Lebanese army soldiers carried out a controlled explosion of a walkie-talkie in the parking lot of the American University of Beirut Medical Centre in Lebanon
WAEL HAMZEH/EPA
The atmosphere in Beirut is tense after two consecutive days of bombings. Controlled explosions were performed into the evening as suspected bombs were discovered in various spots around the city, although the details surrounding many of these discoveries remain unclear.
People on social media are advising each other to “stay away from devices” for the time being. The education minister has been criticised for ordering school and universities, which have been closed for two days, to stay open as usual today. Many locals are bracing themselves for another wave of attacks.
What will be Hezbollah’s next move?
The militant group, long feared for its technological savvy, has vowed revenge on Israel after ‘biggest security breach yet’ led to thousands of co-ordinated explosions in Lebanon.
• Read in full: How will Hezbollah respond to humiliating pager attack
Hezbollah reports 20 members killed in walkie-talkie explosions
Hezbollah said that 20 of its members were killed in the walkie-talkie blasts on Wednesday.
Agence France-Presse reported that the group sent separate death notices for each member, saying they had been killed “on the road to Jerusalem” — the phrase used by Hezbollah to refer to fighters killed by Israel.
“The 20 Hezbollah members were killed by walkie-talkie explosions” across Lebanon, the source said, requesting anonymity.
How near are Hezbollah and Israel to full war?
Both sides claim to have been trying to avoid an all-out war but the recent attack has led to angry rhetoric
A repeat of the 2006 hostilities has been avoided but the suspected Israeli intelligence operation that wounded thousands of the militia’s members has ramped up tensions, with Hezbollah vowing revenge.
• Read in full: The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel explained
Iran behind Trump campaign data hack, says FBI
Iranian hackers sent stolen material from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to senior people working with President Biden on his initial re-election bid, the FBI has said.
Last month Trump’s team said they had complained to law enforcement about a hack, which included a vetting dossier on JD Vance, his running mate. A few days later the FBI said Iran was behind it.
In a joint statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said that in late June and early July the stolen information was sent to “individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign”.
There is no indication any Biden’s team responded to the “unsolicited emails”, the statement added. A source on the Democrat campaign told CNN the material was not used. “This malicious cyberactivity is the latest example of Iran’s multi-pronged approach … to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process,” the agencies said.
Israeli PM condemns Labour’s arms embargo
Binyamin Netanyahu has condemned the UK’s arms suspension and ICC threats, asserting Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas amid ongoing war
OHAD ZWIGENBERG/AFP
Binyamin Netanyahu has accused the British government of undermining his country and sending a “horrible message” to Hamas after it suspended arms exports over legal concerns.
Earlier this month, Labour announced it was suspending 30 of its 350 arms exports licences to Israel, arguing there was a risk the products could be used to break international law.
Netanyahu called Sir Keir Starmer’s administration “misguided”.
In May, the International Criminal Court announced its intention to apply for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes. The Israeli leader was speaking to the Daily Mail.
• Read in full: Netanyahu attacks ‘misguided’ Labour
Plot to assassinate Netanyahu foiled, Israel says
Israel’s security services say they have uncovered an Iranian-backed assassination plot targeting prominent politicians, including Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister.
Officials said that an Israeli was arrested last month for allegedly being recruited by Iran to assassinate either Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, the defence minister, or the head of Shin Bet, the security agency.
In a joint statement, Shin Bet and the police said the suspect was smuggled into Iran twice and received a payment to carry out the mission. The suspect, who was not named, was indicted today.
According to the investigation by Shin Bet and the police, the Jewish-Israeli civilian was a businessman who lived for lengthy periods in Turkey, where he had business and social relations with Turkish and Iranian nationals.
Japanese firm suspects walkie-talkies were fake
The Japanese company whose brand name appeared on the walkie-talkies that exploded on Wednesday said that they may have been fake models, and that it is considering suing for the abuse of its name.
ICOM, a radio equipment manufacturer based in Osaka, said that the IC-V82, the number found on the walkie-talkies used in yesterday’s attacks, was discontinued a decade ago and had been widely counterfeited. The photographs showing one of the damaged radios lacked the hologram sticker that the company attaches to its authentic products.
Yoshiki Enomoto, the director of ICOM, whose brand name appeared on the walkie-talkies that exploded yesterday
KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS
“We feel extremely regretful that products bearing the name of our company have been used in this way, although what we have to find out first of all is whether they are in fact our products or not,” Yoshiki Enomoto, the director of ICOM, said.
He added: “We have to be aware of rumours caused by the media reports, and how they will affect our business. Depending on that, we may take legal action.”
Israel strikes Hezbollah targets close to border
Israeli jets and artillery hit multiple targets in southern Lebanon overnight, Israel’s military said today.
The Israel Defence Forces claimed to have hit Hezbollah targets close to the border, as well as a Hezbollah weapons storage facility.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired around 20 projectiles into Israel, most of which were intercepted by air defence systems without causing any injuries, the military said.
Head of Hezbollah to deliver first response after Israeli attacks
Iranian police officers stand at the site of a memorial set up outside Lebanon’s embassy in Tehran
SOBHAN FARAJVAN/ALAMY
Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, will speak in a televised address this afternoon, his first response since the attacks.
Hezbollah has vowed that Israel will receive a “just punishment” for the attacks over the past 48 hours, which many have claimed have left the Lebanese-based group humiliated.
Nasrallah is expected to begin speaking at 3pm UK time.