Hezbollah Accused of Escalating Tensions with Israel Amid Explosive Pager Plot

Hezbollah's use of pagers and hand-held radios detonated across Lebanon, escalating tensions with Israel. Israel's Mossad allegedly planted explosives, leading to deaths and injuries. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket attacks on Israeli positions. The situation increases fears of a broader Middle East conflict, involving external nations like Iran and the U.S.

On Wednesday afternoon, explosions detonated via hand-held radios used by Hezbollah erupted across southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, according to a security source and a witness. This incident escalated existing tensions with Israel, following similar explosions from the group's pagers the previous day. At least one blast occurred near a funeral organized by Iran-backed Hezbollah, commemorating those killed in the prior day's explosions which wounded many of its fighters.

The group, momentarily thrown into disarray by the pager attacks, retaliated on Wednesday by launching rocket strikes on Israeli artillery positions. This marked the first strike against its arch-enemy since the previous day's blasts. The hand-held radios were reportedly acquired around the same time as the pagers, five months ago, said a security source.

Lebanese security sources revealed that Israel's spy agency, Mossad, planted explosives inside the pagers months before Tuesday's detonations. This attack caused the deaths of 12 individuals, including two children, and wounded nearly 3,000 people, among them Hezbollah fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut. A Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo, denied producing the explosive pagers, attributing them to a Hungarian firm.

Hezbollah has pledged to strike back at Israel, which has yet to comment on the explosions. Cross-border hostilities between the two sides have been ongoing since the Gaza conflict in October, raising concerns of a larger Middle East war potentially involving the U.S. and Iran. Jordan's Foreign Minister blamed Israel for escalating tensions in the region.

Hezbollah aims to avoid an all-out war but faces pressure for a robust response given the impact on civilians, according to Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center. Amid escalating violence, Hezbollah reiterated its support for Hamas in Gaza and warned Israel of repercussions. A senior Hezbollah official described the detonation as the group's "biggest security breach". Hospital footage reviewed by Reuters displayed severe injuries among the wounded, suggesting the plot had been ongoing for months, with a series of assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders previously attributed to Israel.

(With inputs from agencies.)