The blasts that rocked Lebanon for a second day reached the doors of a walkie-talkie maker in Japan on Thursday, as Israel’s declaration of a “new phase” to the conflict raised fears of all-out war.
At least 32 people, including two children, were killed and thousands more injured across Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said early Thursday, after devices belonging to Hezbollah members exploded in a two-day wave of attacks that left the country reeling and the region on the brink.
The stunning operation against walkie-talkies and pagers has left the Iran-backed militant and political group in disarray, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah set to deliver a much-anticipated response later Thursday. The attacks have also rattled an already beleaguered Lebanon, with hospitals overwhelmed and the public unsure if it’s safe to use a mobile phone.
As the world urged against further escalation after months of devastating war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel indicated its focus had shifted to its northern border with Lebanon.
“The ‘center of gravity’ is moving northward — resources and forces are being allocated [to this front],” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in an address at an airbase Wednesday, without mentioning the explosions. “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance on our part,” he said.
Gallant, in a separate post on X, said he spoke with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin overnight, briefing him on “IDF operations in the southern and northern arenas, focusing on Israel’s defense against Hezbollah threats.”
Two U.S. officials told NBC News that Israel told its ally it was going to do something in Lebanon, but they did not give any details, and that the U.S. was caught by surprise when the reports of the pager attacks emerged Tuesday.
While Israel has not taken responsibility for the attacks, the militant group and Lebanese officials also pinned the blame on Israel.
The country’s foreign minister, Abdallah Rashid Bouhabib, was set to participate in an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council in New York on Friday.
Lebanon’s civil aviation agency on Thursday directed all airlines flying out of its main airport in Beirut to prohibit passengers from transporting pagers and walkie-talkies, state news agency NNA reported.
The agency also prohibited their transportation via freight cargo.
The Lebanese Telecommunications Ministry identified the exploding devices on Wednesday as Icom V82s, a type of handheld walkie-talkie.
Osaka-based Icom said Thursday it had not shipped that model for 10 years after it ceased production of the unit.
The company said it could not confirm if the devices it previously shipped to the Middle East about a decade ago were involved in the explosions. Icom’s website lists the V82 as one of its most counterfeited products.
“No parts other than those specified by our company are used in a product,” Icom said in a statement. The firm declined NBC News’ request for further comment.
The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure and a weapons storage facility in southern Lebanon in overnight air strikes. Israeli artillery also struck several areas in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement early Thursday.
In northern Israel, at least eight people were injured by anti-tank fire from across the Lebanon border, health authorities said early Thursday.
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