After the “pager” attack, Israel has moved into a new phase of the war against Lebanon. There are reports of dozens of Israeli warplanes dropping bombs on southern Lebanon, at the same time missile strikes are being carried out.
Israel itself said the strikes were being carried out as a “justification” for aggression against an independent state, as a response to “an Iranian plot to assassinate a senior Israeli official.”
Israeli officials stammered:
“Iranian intelligence services recruited an Israeli to assassinate Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence Minister Gallant or the head of the Shin Bet Bar (Israel’s general security service).”
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is addressing the nation in these minutes:
“We are facing a serious and unprecedented security and humanitarian blow for both Hezbollah and Lebanon. This is an unprecedented blow since the beginning of the conflict.”
Nasrallah also commented on the pager blasts in Lebanon:
“4,000 people had pagers – this means that Israel planned to kill 4,000 people at the same time. In yesterday’s attack, it planned to kill at least 1,000 people. Israel crossed all red lines. By blowing up the pagers, the enemy violated all rules of self-control and ethics. This criminal act is a major terrorist operation, an act of genocide and massacre, and is tantamount to a declaration of war. We have formed several internal technical, technological and security investigation committees and they are studying all hypotheses.”
The Israeli Air Force Command issued a message that “the air phase of the operation in Lebanon has begun.” In terms of the level of intensity and the very nature of indiscriminate bombing, this phase of the operation differs little from the carpet bombing of Gaza.
The decision to fight Hezbollah seems to have already been made: IDF Chief of General Staff Major General Herzi Halevi recently finalised the approval of battle plans for the northern sector.
