According to the prime minister, Hezbollah is hiding weapons in civilian homes; Israel plans new attacks on the country
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Lebanese citizens to evacuate their homes ahead of the upcoming IDF offensive against the extremist group Hezbollah. An Israeli airstrike on Monday (23 September 2024) killed 274 people and injured 1,024.
In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu confirmed that the IDF is planning more attacks on the country. He accused Hezbollah of using civilians as “human shields”.
The prime minister also said that the group had placed weapons of war in the homes of Lebanese citizens. It was not said how long the operation would last.
“To defend our people against Hezbollah attacks, we must take these weapons. Starting this morning, the IDF has warned them to get out of harm’s way.“, said the prime minister.Please get out of harm’s way now. When our operation is over, you can safely return to your homes.“.
Israel vs. Hezbollah
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has intensified over the past week. Naim Qasem, the extremist group’s No. 2, said on Sunday (September 22) that the war against the Israelis “has entered a new phase.” The statement came after Hezbollah launched 150 rockets into Israeli territory.
Furthermore, the group’s attack was in retaliation for the explosion of pagers in Lebanon (read more about the case below). Hezbollah holds Israel responsible for the attack; however, Tel Aviv denies responsibility.
PAGERS EXPLOSIONS
A series of explosions of pagers on September 17 and 18 in Lebanon resulted in the deaths of 37 people. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah accuse Israel of being responsible for hacking the devices, which were used by members of the extremist group.
You pagers are devices used to receive alerts and short messages. They are still useful for communication in places because of their reliability, despite the proliferation of cell phones – and later smartphones– have reduced circulation.
The use of the analog communicators was recommended by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February to avoid tracking by Israel, according to the state agency Al Jazeerafrom Qatar, and the Irna, from Iran, these devices contained explosive charges of less than 50 grams. The Lebanese government advised the population to discard them immediately.
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