274 people killed, more than 700 injured in Israeli attacks: Lebanon

#News Bureau,September 23,2024

A large number of people have been reported killed in Lebanon in Israeli attacks. Lebanon has said that at least 274 people were killed and more than 700 injured in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon on Monday. These include children, women and doctors. AFP reported that Israel said it had carried out dozens of attacks on more than 300 Hezbollah targets, while Hezbollah said it had targeted three targets in northern Israel.

Media reports quoted Lebanese officials as saying that the country received more than 80,000 suspicious Israeli calls asking people to evacuate. Imad Kreidih, head of telecom company Ogero, confirmed the development to Reuters and said that such calls are psychological warfare to create mayhem and chaos.

The war began when the Palestinian group Hamas launched its worst attack on Israel ever. Iran-backed groups around the region, especially Hezbollah, joined the violence. As the conflict is set to escalate, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that “tough times are ahead of us”. He said he had promised to change the balance of power in the north, and that is exactly what is happening.

“We are destroying thousands of missiles and rockets that have been fired at Israeli cities and civilians,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli military announced that it would further expand its operations in Lebanon and also released a map showing 17 villages and towns in southern Lebanon. However, it did not say which of them they would target. “We advise civilians in Lebanese villages to immediately move away from the threat for their own safety,” the IDF said in a statement.

The evacuation order is said to be part of Israel’s latest effort to weaken Hezbollah. Last week covert operations targeted and damaged parts of the militia’s communications network. Additionally, a rare attack on Beirut on Friday destroyed a building where senior Hezbollah commanders were meeting.

Explosions in pagers, walkie-talkies in Lebanon

Let us tell you that recently there were explosions in means of communication for two consecutive days in Lebanon. Last week, 20 people were killed and hundreds were injured when a walkie-talkie exploded in Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon. A day before this, twelve people were killed and about 3000 people were injured in an explosion in pagers.

Reuters quoted a security source as saying that hand-held radios or walkie-talkies were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time as pagers were purchased. According to a New York Times report, about 1 to 2 ounces of explosive material was installed next to the battery in each pager. The explosions on Tuesday last week have been termed as the biggest security lapse in the history of the organization. Lebanese officials have claimed that Israel has tampered with the pagers imported into the country. After these explosions, Lebanon has expressed suspicion on Israel. Since these attacks, attacks between Lebanon and Israel have increased.