Hezbollah vows to punish Israel after the bombing of pagers across Lebanon.
Lebanon's Hezbollah movement vowed retaliation after blaming Israel for the September 17 bombing of a messaging device that killed at least eight people and injured 2,750 others, including many of the group's fighters and an Iranian envoy in Beirut.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the bombing of the pager – which Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon used for communication. Hezbollah stated that Israel would receive "just punishment" for the bombing.
The Israeli military, which has been engaged in a cross-border war with Iranian-backed Hezbollah since the Gaza war broke out last October, declined to answer Reuters' questions about the explosion.
An unnamed Hezbollah official stressed that the bombing of the pager was "the biggest security breach" the group has suffered in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
The developments in Lebanon are extremely worrying, especially in the context of "extreme instability," warned UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding that the UN regrets any civilian casualties.
Immediately after the incident, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas condemned the bombing of the communication devices. "We... strongly condemn the terrorist aggression of Zionists against Lebanese citizens by detonating communication devices in various areas of Lebanese territory," Hamas said in a statement, asserting that this was an escalation that would only lead to "defeat" for Israel. Another Hezbollah ally, Iran, also strongly condemned the attack that Israel was accused of carrying out.
Without directly commenting on the explosions in Lebanon, an Israeli military spokesman said that Chief of Staff Major General Herzi Halevi met with senior officers on the evening of September 17 to assess the situation, while "emphasizing readiness for attack and defense on all fronts." No policy changes were announced, but "vigilance must continue," Halevi stated.
For his part, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller largely avoided commenting on the pager explosion, emphasizing that Washington was not involved and was not notified in advance, and that it 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 long-standing U.S. position in support of a diplomatic solution to the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, and once again called on Iran "not to exploit any incident to create further instability."