Hezbollah vows to punish Israel after pager explosions across Lebanon
Lebanon's Hezbollah movement vowed retaliation after blaming Israel for a September 17 pager explosion that killed at least eight people and wounded 2,750 others, including many of its fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the explosion of the pager – which Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups use to communicate – and said Israel would receive “just punishment” for the blast.
The Israeli military, which has been engaged in a cross-border war with Iran-backed Hezbollah since the Gaza war broke out last October, declined to answer questions from Reuters about the explosion.
An unnamed Hezbollah official stressed that the pager explosion was the "biggest security breach" the group had suffered in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
The developments in Lebanon are extremely worrying, especially in the context of "extreme instability", UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric warned, adding that the UN regretted any civilian casualties.
Shortly after the incident, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas condemned the pager explosion. "We... strongly condemn the Zionist terrorist aggression against Lebanese citizens by detonating communication devices in various areas of Lebanese territory," Hamas said in a statement, calling it an escalation that would only lead to "defeat" for Israel. Hezbollah's other ally Iran also strongly condemned the attack, which Israel is accused of carrying out.
Without commenting directly on the explosions in Lebanon, an Israeli military spokesman said the chief of staff, Major General Herzi Halevi, met with senior officers on the evening of September 17 to assess the situation and “stressed offensive and defensive readiness in all arenas”. No policy changes were announced but “vigilance must continue”, Halevi said.
For his part, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller largely avoided commenting on the pager explosion, stressing that Washington was not involved and had no prior notice of the incident, and was still gathering information about what happened. "We are gathering information in the same way that journalists around the world gather information about what may have happened," Miller stressed.
Mr. Miller reiterated the US's long-standing position in support of a diplomatic solution to the tension between Israel and Hezbollah, and once again called on Iran "not to exploit any incident to cause further instability"./.
