Lebanon pleads for end to ‘technological war’ but ‘prepares for worst’

Lebanese civilians are living in terror after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah fighters exploded, with fears the ‘technological war’ could be a precursor to a full-scale conflict. Thousands were left with horrific injuries to their eyes, faces and hands, while dozens lost their lives in the two waves of clandestine attacks, which targeted Hezbollah fighters’ communication equipment but also led to civilian casualties.

Israel is widely believed to have orchestrated the blasts, and while it has not claimed responsibility, Hezbollah and its backers Iran have condemned their arch-foe for carrying out ‘mass murder’ and have vowed to exact revenge. In news which is bound to further fuel tensions, it was also revealed today that Iran allegedly recruited an Israeli civilian to assassinate prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the individual arrested last month. As tensions ratchet up after almost a year of cross-border fighting, Israel has been moving more troops and tanks to its northern frontier and unleashed blistering airstrikes on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon overnight.

With the increased activity and blasts increasingly viewed as heralding a return to all-out war, last seen 18 years ago, Lebanese officials are now pleading for an intervention from the UN and say their country is preparing for the worst. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati today called on the UN to oppose Israel’s ‘technological war’ on his country. He said in a statement ahead of the UN Security Council meeting tomorrow that the UN should ‘take a firm stance to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the technological war it is waging’.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad has warned that his country must prepare for the ‘worst-case scenario’ adding that the attacks over the past two days show Israel’s ‘intent is not towards a diplomatic solution.’ He said in a statement ahead of the UN Security Council meeting tomorrow that the UN should ‘take a firm stance to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the technological war it is waging’. He added that ‘the weaponisation of technology’ is a very worrying new tactic, not only for Lebanon but also for the rest of the world, and for other conflicts.’ ‘Now we have to think twice before using technology,’ he said in an interview with the BBC.

Many in Lebanon are now living in fear of a third wave of attacks. Worried that yet more devices could be booby-trapped, panicked Hezbollah fighters have torn the batteries from their walkie-talkies and thrown them into open spaces. Civilians have spoken of their terror that their mobile phones and other home devices could effectively be turned into bombs, with reports that many are removing their batteries and Lebanese SIM cards. ‘We don’t know if we can stay next to our laptops, our phones. Everything seems like a danger at this point and no one knows what to do,’ one local told the BBC.

Writing for MailOnline, journalist Hassan Harfoush described people’s terror over the last two days. ‘Beirut has collapsed into panic. The WhatsApp groups are going non-stop. There are wild rumours doing the rounds that solar panels might explode, batteries, fridges – anything. There’s fake news saying phones have exploded.’ ‘I know it’s stupid but I even told my parents to get a fire extinguisher, just in case ­something blows up in the house,’ he added. ‘We’re all really scared; there is no safe place any more. Everyone knows what these explosions can do. In a Beirut hospital, I saw a man whose flesh had been torn from his face, the bones gruesomely visible. He was still conscious.’

Exploding walkie-talkies killed 20 and injured at least 450 people on Wednesday, including mourners at a funeral for three Hezbollah fighters and a child killed in the blasts the previous day, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. On Tuesday, exploding pagers killed 12, including two children, and left almost 3,000 injured. Tehran last night threatened that it will ‘follow up’ after its ambassador to Beirut was confirmed to be among the injured in the attacks. The Islamic Republic’s envoy to the UN warned in a letter that it ‘reserves its rights under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond to such a heinous crime and violation.’

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar announced today that Tehran was behind a plot to kill senior officials in Israel following the assassination of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in late July. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other top Israeli officials were also named as Iranian targets claimed to have been uncovered by Israeli intelligence. 

Iran allegedly sought to employ Israeli businessman Moti Maman (pictured), 73, with extensive time spent in Turkey to develop a plot on Netanyahu’s life within Israel. The plot allegedly went back to April this year when the Israeli businessman agreed to meet a wealthy counterpart living in Iran for a business meeting. Israel says it is aiming to shore up its national security by focussing its attention on the north, with Benjamin Netanyahu framing the war as an existential issue for his country.

In an expansion of Israel’s official war goals on Tuesday, Netanyahu announced that his forces would now aim to halt Hezbollah’s attacks in the north to allow tens of thousands of residents to return to their homes along the border. He reiterated this in a brief video statement last night, saying: ‘I’ve already said we will return [the displaced] residents of the north safely to their homes, and that is exactly what we will do.’ Israel’s defence minister Gallant, a former general, said yesterday that the war had entered ‘a new phase’. He said of his country’s war strategy that ‘the center of gravity is moving north. We are diverting forces, resources, and energy toward the north.’

Overnight, Israeli jets and artillery hit multiple targets in southern Lebanon, Israel’s military said. These included sites in Chihine, Tayibe, Blida, Meiss El Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, as well as a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Khiam. Israeli media reported that a number of Israeli civilians had been wounded by anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon but there was no official confirmation. On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired around 20 projectiles into Israel, most of which were intercepted by air defence systems without causing any injuries, the military said.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is set to make an address this afternoon, with Lebanese civilians holding their breath over how the hardline militia will retaliate and how Israel will respond in turn. As bellicose rhetoric is ramping up on both sides, the United Nations and governments around the world have called for calm, with France urging ‘maximum restraint’ and Britain calling for ‘de-escalation’. Lebanon’s ambassador to the UK, Rami Mortada, warned this morning that the Middle East is the closest it has been in 50 years to a regional war that would ‘spare no one’.

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