Israel strikes Lebanon during Hezbollah chief’s speech; US, UK urge restraint

Israel on Thursday launched a full-scale attack in Lebanon targetting several locations of terror group Hezbollah. The attack was initiated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shortly after Hezbollah gave a televised speech condemning the recent pager and walkie-talkie attacks in the country.
“The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields — having turned southern Lebanon into a war zone,” IDF said in a post on X.
“The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes and achieve war goals,” it added.
Meanwhile, the US and the UK have urged both the warring parties to exercise restraint. While the US called for a diplomatic solution, saying that it was achievable and urgent, Britain said there should be an ‘immediate ceasefire’ between Israel and Hezbollah.
The US is “afraid and concerned about potential escalation,” news agency Reuters quoted White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre as saying.
Thursday’s attack came at a time when Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was delivering a speech for the first time since thousands of explosions on booby-trapped radios and pagers hit the Iran-backed Lebanese group earlier this week.
As the broadcast unfolded, sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook buildings in Beirut, news agency Reuters reported. The sonic booms, which have become a frequent occurrence in recent months, carried an intensified weight as the prospect of an all-out war looms larger.
Overnight, Israel confirmed conducting airstrikes in southern Lebanon, and by afternoon, Hezbollah reported that the bombardment had resumed along the tense border region.
The attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, raising fears that a full-blown war was imminent.
Israel has remained silent on its involvement in the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, neither confirming nor denying any responsibility. However, several security sources have indicated that the operation was executed by Mossad, the country’s intelligence agency.
In his speech, Nasrallah issued a stern warning to Israel, saying that the recent attacks could be called a “declaration of war”. “Israel violated red lines by detonating thousands of pagers,” Nasrallah said.
“The enemy went beyond all controls, laws and morals,” he said, adding the attacks “could be considered war crimes or a declaration or war, they could be called anything and they deserve to be called anything. Of course that was the intention of the enemy”.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war last October, Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been locked in a fierce cross-border conflict, marking the most intense escalation between the two in years.