Hezbollah chief denounces Israeli attacks as warplane sonic booms rattle Beirut

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemns deadly Israeli attacks on communications equipment, escalating tensions in Lebanon and Israel.

Deadly Israeli attacks that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers crossed all red lines, the leader of the heavily armed Lebanese movement said on Thursday (September 19, 2024), in a speech broadcast as sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook buildings in Beirut.

Lebanon and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment that killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on Hezbollah. Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency.

“There is no doubt that we have been subjected to a major security and military blow that is unprecedented in the history of the resistance and unprecedented in the history of Lebanon,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in his TV address, filmed at an undisclosed location.

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“This type of killing, targeting and crime may be unprecedented in the world,” he said, appearing in front of a featureless red background in his customary black turban.

The attacks “crossed all red lines”, he 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.”

As the broadcast was aired, deafening sonic booms from Israeli warplanes shook Beirut, a sound that has become common in recent months but has taken on a greater significance as the threat of all-out war has steadily ramped up. Israel said its warplanes struck southern Lebanon overnight. Hezbollah reported that airstrikes resumed in the border area in the afternoon.