LEBANON has warned of a “doomsday scenario” as Israeli troops are poised to invade the country and Benjamin Netanyahu pushes for all-out war.
Hezbollah issued a chilling threat yesterday after exploding pagers and walkie-talkies left 37 dead, 3,600 maimed and wounded, and set tensions skyrocketing.
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The Wall Street Journal reports US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has told senior Pentagon officials he feared Israel could soon invade.
Israeli officials declared the start of a “new phase” of the war just days ago and a crack army unit was moved north.
Rami Mortada, Lebanon’s ambassador to the UK, told The Times an Israeli invasion would be a “doomsday scenario”.
He said: “We are facing all the risks of an all-out regional conflict and that’s what we have been tirelessly trying to avoid.
“Let’s hope that we don’t get there because this is a doomsday scenario for everyone. It’s definitely a doomsday for Lebanon but Lebanon will not hurt alone in this war.”
Mortada warned that Hezbollah was a “formidable fighting force” and claimed Israel should be weary of another inconclusive war like in 2006.
Netanyahu is also poised to sack his Defence Minister who has been pushing for a ceasefire and get the hostages returned.
The Prime Minister has been pushing for a broader battle with the terror group to Israel’s north, The Times reports.
He wants to show off the country’s strength a year after the terror attack on his watch made it look weak.
The IDF yesterday launched fresh strikes against Hezbollah, claiming to destroy 100 rocket launchers and around 1,000 launch barrels in the strikes.
Israeli Defence Forces chiefs said the massive attack was to “degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and infrastructure”.
Black and white footage posted to social media showed the country blowing up targets.
A spokesman said: “For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields.
“The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes and achieve war goals.”
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Israeli commanders said Hezbollah would “pay an increasing price” and issued warnings to locals to steer clear of the border and expect to hear louds blasts while troops trained there.
Israeli Defence Forces’ crack 98th Division has been redeployed to the north from Gaza and will be fine tuning battle plans over the weekend in readiness for a ground invasion.
US officials monitoring soaring tension said they were “afraid and concerned about potential escalation” as UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for an immediate ceasefire.
Three Lebanese security sources told Reuters the strikes were the most intense bombing since October last year.
Iran-backed Hezbollah meanwhile said it launched at least 17 attacks on military sites in northern Israel.
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Speaking for the first time yesterday since the deadly device sabotage, Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah vowed Israel would face retribution.
Nasrallah said Israel would face “tough retribution and just punishment, where it expects it and where it does not” and described the attacks as a “massacre” and a possible “act of war”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami assured ally Nasrallah that Israel will face “a crushing response from the axis of resistance”.
Analysts have told The Sun they also believe Israel could be set to invade and the pager blitz may have been an opening salvo.
Avner Avraham claims Israel is directly challenging Hezbollah to start a war in retaliation, so it can then invade Lebanon and wipe them out.
Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return the evacuated Israelis “securely to their homes”.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared the start of a “new phase” of war as the country’s army moved north.
The announcement paves the way for the first full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon since 2006 in a drive to push back the terror group and allow Israelis to return home.
But the risky move raises the spectre of Hezbollah backers, Iran being drawn into a devastating regional conflict.
Ex-Mossad agent Avraham said the chess move attack was Israel saying: “Don’t mess with us”.
He said: “The attack yesterday was so strong and wide if they (Hezbollah) do start a limited war, they will lose immediately.
“In the north, we have to start a limited war and we prefer that Hezbollah would make the first mistake.
“The response would be a huge damage to Lebanon, it would go 100 years back.”
Where did the pagers come from?
By James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter
Iranian proxy Hezbollah ordered the pagers months ago but never thought the quaint piece of tech could be tampered with.
Hezbollah shifted to pagers after the group’s leader told members to stop using phones in February over fears they could be tracked by Israeli spies.
A senior Lebanese security source said the group had ordered 5,000 beepers made by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, which were brought into the country in the spring.
But Gold Apollo told media in Taipei today the specific order was manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT in Budapest.
Gold Apollo boss Hsu Ching-kuang said BAC asked to manufacture their own pagers with the company’s trademark and they were paid from a mystery Middle Eastern bank account, NPR reports.
BAC Consulting chief executive Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono confirmed to media that her company worked with Gold Apollo.
But said, “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate.”
At some point during the manufacture, the devices were modified by Israel’s spy service with a small amount of explosive.
The AR-924 pager is described as being “rugged” and contains a rechargeable lithium battery with 85 days of battery life.
Their longevity would be important in Lebanon which has suffered major power outages.
Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies and harder for Israel to hack digitally.
The affected pagers were only delivered to Hezbollah recently.
Reports now claim Mossad set up shell companies to build the devices themselves.
But the New York Times reported BAC is an Israeli shell company, one of at least three used by spies to mask their identity.
BAC took on ordinary clients for whom they produced ordinary pagers.
Pagers sent to Hezbollah, however, contained the explosive PETN.
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