Moment huge blast erupts behind Sky News journalist in Beirut

A Sky News journalist was filming live in Beirut when a huge blast echoed throughout the city this afternoon. International correspondent John Sparks was giving analysis of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s first speech since deadly explosions rocked Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday when a loud explosion interrupted filming. 

It was unclear what caused the explosion. Hezbollah has fired rockets into Israel since the attacks earlier this week, which Israel has not claimed responsibility for. Israel said last night it was at the start of a new phase in its war. A witness in Beirut claimed this afternoon that Israeli jets were carrying out huge sonic booms over the city during Nasrallah’s anticipated speech.

Lebanese residents, already on edge following this week’s blasts across the country that the group blamed on Israel, were panicked fearing a major escalation. Nasrallah responded to attacks that have cut deep in Lebanon this week in his speech on Thursday afternoon. A wave of blasts lasting about an hour on Tuesday afternoon targeted paging devices brought in by Hezbollah – an Iranian proxy group – after they stopped using mobile phones for security reasons. Hezbollah responded with a limited rocket strike on Israel on Wednesday.

But by the afternoon a second wave of detonations had hit walkie-talkies also being used by militants in Lebanon, injuring some 608 people and killing 25, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment killed 37 people in total and wounded around 3,000. Footage showed cars caught in blazing infernos and homes billowing thick black smoke across the country on Wednesday.

The group’s secretary general spoke for the first time since the pager attacks on Thursday, saying Israel had crossed ‘all red lines’ with the attacks and warning the attacks could be seen as a declaration of war. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the attacks but multiple security sources have said they were carried out by its spy agency Mossad. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said only that ‘the results are very impressive’.

Nasrallah insisted today Hezbollah would not stop fighting on the Lebanese front until the war in Gaza stops. He said that the group has increased the readiness of all of it weapons and fighters. Iran also offered their backing. A commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards told the head of Hezbollah that Israel would face a ‘crushing response from the axis of resistance’, according to state-run news agency IRNA. 

But as Mr Sparks gave his analysis of the rising tensions, a huge explosion rocked the capital. Shortly before 4pm, reports claimed Israeli fighter jets were carrying out mock air raids over the city and breaking the sound barrier. This was the lowest jets have flown over Beirut since hostilities erupted in October 2023, The Guardian reports. The Israeli military acknowledged that it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon shortly before the speech.

It also said the military chief of staff had approved plans for Israel’s north, which borders Lebanon. The military said Hezbollah had turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone. ‘For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields,’ it said.

 ‘The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes, as well as to achieve all of the war goals,’ it said. A separate military statement said that the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, had recently completed approval of plans for the northern arena.

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