this Explosions hit Lebanon for second day in a row arrived at the doorstep of a Japanese walkie-talkie manufacturer on Thursday because Israeli Declaration of conflict entering “new phase” Raising fears of all-out war.
The Lebanese Health Minister said earlier on Thursday that at least 37 people have died across Lebanon, including two children, and thousands have been injured. Keep rising.
Amazing operation Hezbollah’s walkie-talkies and pagers Iran-backed militant and political groups are in disarray, with their leader Hassan Nasrallah due to deliver a much-anticipated response later on Thursday. The attacks have also unsettled an already troubled Lebanon, with hospitals overwhelmed and people unsure whether it is safe to use mobile phones.
As the world urges against further escalation after months of devastating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel says its focus has shifted to its northern border with Lebanon, where the two sides exchanged gunfire on Thursday.
The Israeli military said it hit Hezbollah infrastructure and weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon in nighttime airstrikes. Israeli artillery also struck several areas in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.
Anti-tank fire from across the Lebanese border wounded at least eight people in northern Israel, health authorities said earlier on Thursday.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in a speech at the air base a day ago that “the ‘center of gravity’ is moving north – resources and troops are being allocated (to this direction).” But he did not mention the explosion. . “We are at the beginning of a new phase of the war – one that will require our courage, determination and perseverance,” he said.
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Two U.S. officials told NBC News that Israel told its allies it would take action in Lebanon, but they gave no details and the U.S. was surprised when reports of the pager attack emerged on Tuesday.
While Israel did not take responsibility for the attack, the armed group and Lebanese officials also blamed Israel.
The country’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Rashid Bouhabib will attend an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Friday.
Explosive devices leave trail from Taiwan to Bulgaria
Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday instructed all airlines flying out of Beirut’s main airport to ban the transport of pagers and walkie-talkies for passengers, state news agency NNA reported.
The agency also prohibits their shipment via freight.
Lebanon’s Telecommunications Ministry on Wednesday identified the explosive device as an Icom V82s, a handheld walkie-talkie.
Osaka-based Icom said on Thursday it had not shipped the model for 10 years after it was discontinued.
“It is impossible for a bomb to be integrated into our equipment during the manufacturing process,” ICOM director Yoshiki Enomoto said Thursday outside the company’s headquarters.
“The process is highly automated and fast-paced, so there’s no time for something like this,” he told Reuters.
Enomoto added that the company could not confirm whether the equipment Icom shipped to the Middle East a decade ago was involved in the explosion because it did not put any holographic stickers on the equipment, a common method for verifying product authenticity.
The Icom website lists the V82 as one of the most counterfeited products.
“No parts other than those specified by our company are used in the products,” Icom said in a statement. The company declined NBC News’ request for further comment.
As authorities around the world scramble to trace how the explosive devices ended up in the hands of Hezbollah, Bulgaria’s state news agency said on Thursday it was investigating the possible involvement of a company registered there, without directly naming the company.
Pictures of the pagers bear the name of Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer. The company said the devices were made by a Hungarian company, BAC Consulting, and said the company had been authorized to use Gold Apollo’s mark on products in certain areas. sales, “but the design and manufacturing of the product is solely the responsibility of BAC.”
A spokesperson for Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs told NBC News that it is still under investigation whether the original Gold Apollo product has been tampered with or whether it is a complete fake.
Hungarian officials said that BAC Consulting was just a trade intermediary company and none of the pagers were in the country.
Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, CEO of the company, Confirmed to NBC News On Wednesday, her company partnered with Gold Apollo. But when asked about the pagers, she said on the phone: “I don’t make pagers. I’m just a middleman. I think you’re mistaken.”
Bársony-Arcidiacono did not respond to a request for further comment.
