Israel launches fresh strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah chief’s speech, jets break sound barrier over Beirut

Minutes after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered his first speech in the aftermath of pager explosions, Israel launched a full-scale attack in Lebanon by targeting the militant group’s targets. 

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed about the attack, adding that its aim was to ‘bring security to northern Israel’. 

“The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure,” IDF said. 

“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. 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. 

Images and videos going viral on social media showed Israeli fighter jets breaking the sound barrier in the Lebanese territory, especially the capital city of Beirut. 

Earlier in the day, IDF said it bombed six Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure sites” and a weapons storage facility.

The air strikes hit Hezbollah targets in Chihine, Tayibe, Blida, Meiss El Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, as well as a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Khiam. 

Watch | Lebanon walkie-talkie blasts: Hamas blames Israel for new wave of device explosions in Lebanon

In his televised speech, Nasrallah stated that the planned explosions were a ‘declaration of war’, whilst adding that Hezbollah will prevent Tel Aviv from realising its new war objective to return Israeli citizens displaced from the border area in the north to their homes.

“Let me tell the Israeli government, the Israeli army and the Israeli people: You will not manage. I tell Prime Minister Netanyahu: You can do what you want, you will not manage,” Nasrallah said. 

“The only solution is to halt the aggression against the people of Gaza. No military escalation, no killings, no total war will return your settlers to the border area. You know it,” he added.

Both Israel and Hezbollah have been flirting with an all-out war after the militant outfit’s deputy leader Faud Shukr was killed in July by Israel in an air strike. The pager explosion saga may have been the final straw. 

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(With inputs from agencies)