Sources accuse Mossad of placing explosives on the aircraft // Israel directs its offensive towards the border between the two countries
▲ Funeral of victims of Tuesday’s beeper bombings in a southern suburb of Beirut.Photo Ap
Bel Trew and Chris Stevenson
The Independent
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, September 19, 2024, p. 23
Tel Aviv. Portable radios used by Hezbollah exploded in several places in Lebanon yesterday, in a second wave of deadly explosions, while the Israeli defense minister declared that his country has entered into a new phase of the war on its northern border. At least 20 people were killed and 450 wounded by the explosions, the Lebanese health minister said.
The latest incident comes 24 hours after thousands of beeper explosions killed 12 people and injured 3,000 others in an unprecedented attack that Hezbollah blamed on Israel.
While Tel Aviv has not commented, the finger of blame is pointing at its spy agency, Mossad. A senior Lebanese security source and a second source told reporters that Mossad – which has a long history of sophisticated attacks on foreign soil – planted explosives inside the devices. The claim was echoed by US government officials, quoted in US media.
Wednesday’s attacks on the walkie-talkies They bear similar traces. The devices detonated in the south of the country and in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut; many of the victims’ wounds were in the stomach and hands.
At least one of the blasts occurred near a funeral organized by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group, for those killed in the beeper explosions.
The portable radios were acquired by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time as the beepers, a security source told reporters.
The Prime Minister of Lebanon was here, in the emergency meeting room of the Ministry of Healthdeclared to The Independent Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad.
We feel that this is an indiscriminate act of aggression, and that it is another violation of international humanitarian law. Today I went around to meet with many of the patients and their families. The main feeling I got was one of outrage, not despondency and despair. It was a feeling of outrage, and that this is an attempt to escalate the war..
The rhetoric surrounding the attacks on the Lebanese-Israeli border has grown in recent weeks, and Israel’s defense minister said yesterday that the military is turning its attention to that front. Yoav Gallant made no mention of the explosions, but praised the work of his military and security agencies, saying: The results are very impressive.
New phase of the war
After months of war against Hamas militants in Gaza, The center of gravity is shifting north, diverting resources and forceshe added. We are at the beginning of a new phase of the war, which requires courage, determination and perseverance..
Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi added that his country has many capabilities that have not yet been activated.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi accused Israel of pushing the Middle East to the brink of a regional war by orchestrating a dangerous escalation.
Officials told Axios that the explosives were pre-planted in the portable radios, which were given to Hezbollah for use in the event of an all-out war with Israel, and that is why many were stored in warehouses.
The sources said the second attack was likely driven by the risk that Hezbollah’s investigations after the first attack would uncover the security breach in the walkie-talkies.
Izzat al-Rasheq, a senior Hamas official, said Israel was responsible for the repercussions of This continued attack in LebanonIran also condemned the attacks, which, according to its government spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, have causing the death and injury of hundreds of Lebanese citizens.
Images of the exploded devices showed an internal panel identified as ICOM and with the label Made in JapanAccording to its website, ICOM is a telephone and communications company based in that Asian country.
Production of several models of its portable radio has reportedly been discontinued, including the IC-V82, which closely resembles images broadcast from Lebanon on Wednesday. The model was discontinued in 2014.
The death toll from Tuesday’s pager explosions rose to 12 yesterday, including two children, Minister Abiad said. Nearly 3,000 people were injured, including the Iranian envoy to Beirut.
A Taiwanese pager manufacturer, Gold Apollo, denied producing the affected devices. It said they were made under license from a Budapest-based company called BAC Consulting. Zoltan Kovacs, spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Urban, said the firm was an intermediary company that does not have a factory or any other operating site in Hungary and that the devices have never been to Hungary.
Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, chief executive of BAC Consulting, confirmed to NBC News that her company works with Gold Apollo, but added: I don’t do the beepers. I’m just a middleman. I think you misunderstood..
BAC Consulting’s website, which was up and running yesterday but then became unavailable, provided vague information about the company’s activities.
Barsony-Arcidiano’s profile notes that she has served as an adviser to several organizations, including UNESCO. Attention has focused on where and when the devices were tampered with; a senior Lebanese source indicated that they were tapped by the Israeli intelligence service at the production level.
Mossad injected a card containing explosive material into the device and received a code. It is very difficult to detect by any means.the source said.
Another security source said that up to 3 grams of explosives were hidden in the pagers and that they passed unnoticed for Hezbollah for months. Other officials suggested the explosive was placed next to the battery, along with a detonator that could be activated remotely.
© The Independent
Translation: Jorge Anaya