The Israeli military launched a new wave of attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday (Sept. 19), following two days of explosions involving devices that escalated tensions in the Middle East, raising fears of an all-out war within the international community.
The attack on southern Lebanon included airstrikes and artillery fire, although Israeli ground forces had not crossed the border, according to an Israeli official.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the strikes, stating that they aimed to degrade Hezbollah’s “capabilities and infrastructure.” This came as the leader of the Iranian-backed militant and political group began a highly anticipated response to the recent attacks involving wireless devices and bomb detonators.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a battle in northern Israel, the IDF reported. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health stated that four people were injured in airstrikes on a town in southern Lebanon, according to the state-run National News Agency.
There were 52 Israeli airstrikes on a wooded area in southern Lebanon on Thursday.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו בשעתיים האחרונות בהכוונת אמ"ן ופיקוד הצפון, מאות קני שיגור שהיו מוכנים לשיגור מיידי לשטח מדינת ישראל.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 19, 2024
החל משעות אחר הצהריים הותקפו סך הכל כ-100 משגרים ותשתיות צבאיות נוספות, בהם כ-1,000 קני שיגור שהיו מוכנים לשיגור מיידי<< pic.twitter.com/I3Tg1QGz8j
The Israeli military stated that its air force struck around 100 multiple rocket launcher systems, which consisted of approximately 1,000 rocket tubes that were to be used in an imminent Hezbollah attack.
“The IDF will continue its operations with the aim of degrading the capabilities and infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, in order to defend the State of Israel,” emphasized the Israeli Defense Forces in their statement.
Watch the video of the airstrikes.
? Happening now: intensive airstrikes on Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/AIOVPkHSc5
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) September 19, 2024
#Israel #Lebanon The Israeli Air Force strikes over 70 targets in Lebanon.
— Politics World Wide Web (@PoliticsWWWeb) September 19, 2024
Unprecedented Intensity of Israeli strikes on Lebanon is being reported.#Israel #Palestine#Gaza#Hamas#Lebanon #Hezbollah#IDF#Hezbollah#Houthis #Yemen#Iran pic.twitter.com/SeFajAvRPw
Earlier today, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galad stressed that operations against Hezbollah would continue in order to ensure the safe return of residents in the northern border areas. “Gradually, Hezbollah will pay a bigger and bigger price,” Galad assured.
Watch video
#BREAKING #LEBANON #ISRAEL #LÍBANO
— LW World News ? (@LoveWorld_Peopl) September 19, 2024
? LEBANON 😕 ❗️ ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT STRIKES ON _HEZBOLLAH LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The attack began as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah began to deliver a speech on the events of the past two days. pic.twitter.com/4uIJE2E6jS
The Middle East is on fire
The leader of Hezbollah stated that the bombing attacks, using thousands of devices and radios from the Lebanese armed group, “crossed all red lines” and blamed Israel for what he called a declaration of war.
In a highly anticipated speech, Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged that Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented blow” but vowed to continue fighting and to impose “just punishment.” In his first remarks following the unprecedented attacks, he described Tuesday and Wednesday’s attacks as “massacres” and said the group faced an unprecedented blow. “These attacks are a test for us,” he emphasized.
Israel has not admitted responsibility for the explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday, which, according to Lebanese authorities, caused the death of 37 people and injured 3,000.
As Nasrallah spoke, Israeli warplanes created sonic booms over Beirut, while others struck targets in southern Lebanon.
Watch video of his statements:
Tehran threatens Israel with a crushing response
Israel will face “a crushing response from the axis of resistance,” said today the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, in a message to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to state media, following attacks on communication devices of the Shia Lebanese group allied with Iran.
“Such terrorist acts are undoubtedly the result of the Zionist regime’s (Israel) despair and successive failures. This will soon be met with a crushing response from the axis of resistance, and we will witness the destruction of this bloodthirsty and criminal regime,” Salami stressed in his message to Nasrallah.
Israel: Hezbollah will pay an increasing price as time goes on
?️“Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price,” Yoav Gallant said
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 19, 2024
Follow more updates here ?https://t.co/3N9o2zNmnt pic.twitter.com/PsiYY4Zc2O
At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Israel’s military action against Hezbollah “will continue.”
“In the new phase of the war, there are significant opportunities but also significant dangers. Hezbollah feels persecuted. The sequence of our military actions will continue,” Gallant emphasized during a briefing with Israeli Defense Forces officials.
“Our goal is to ensure the safe return of northern Israeli communities to their homes. As time goes on, Hezbollah will pay an increasingly higher price,” he added.
The United States does not want to see “any party escalating this conflict,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller after the Israeli Defense Minister spoke about a “new phase in the war,” and the Israeli Defense Forces announced strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
“This remains a very dangerous situation,” Miller said, noting that the risk of escalation has existed since October 7, 2023.
Blinken calls for de-escalation
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned yesterday of the risk of further escalation in the Middle East following the detonation of thousands of devices belonging to members of Hezbollah.
The news of the explosions came as the top U.S. diplomat traveled to Cairo to meet with senior Egyptian officials in the hope of advancing efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and improving relations with Egypt.
BREAKING: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been speaking in Paris following the explosions in Lebanon. https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 19, 2024
? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/ENdXOUmulU
Responding to a question about the explosions, Blinken said the U.S. is still gathering information but that no one’s interests would be served by escalating the conflict. “It is imperative that all parties avoid any action that could escalate the conflict,” Blinken said at a press conference alongside his Egyptian counterpart. He did not say who the U.S. believes is behind the explosions.
Blinken emphasized that he is focused on securing a ceasefire agreement that will bring calm, including on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, noting that 15 out of 18 paragraphs of an agreement have been agreed upon by all parties. He mentioned that progress includes long waits for messages to be relayed between the sides, which leaves time for events that disrupt talks.
“In the interim, we have seen that an event can occur—something that makes the process harder, threatens to slow it, stop it, derail it—and anything of that nature, by definition, is probably not good when it comes to achieving the outcome we want, which is a ceasefire,” Blinken said.
“There is a diplomatic path”: Macron speaks directly to the people of Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the people of Lebanon last night in a video uploaded by his office on social media, emphasizing that “there is a diplomatic path” and that “war is not inevitable.”
Libanaises, Libanais, mes chers amis.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 19, 2024
Dans la confusion, dans le chagrin, l'espoir est une denrée rare. Dans cette confusion, dans ce chagrin, la France se tient à vos côtés. pic.twitter.com/r2uIbnzItU
“Escalation is in no one’s interest,” the French head of state said, as tensions have skyrocketed after the deadly explosions of thousands of communication devices belonging to Hezbollah, which the Iran-aligned faction attributes to Israel.
“Nothing, no regional adventure, no private interest, no faith in any cause is worth a conflict breaking out in Lebanon,” the French president insisted, reassuring that his country will remain “by the side” of the citizens of the Middle Eastern state.
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