Israel walkie talkies: Pager attacks a 'declaration of war' as Israel strikes southern Lebanon

Israel has launched airstrikes on southern Lebanon as the leader of Hezbollah proclaimed explosions in thousands of pagers and walkie talkies which killed dozens of people to be “a declaration of war”.

The strikes came after Hezbollah fired a new barrage of drones into northern Israel, where air raid sirens were heard on Thursday afternoon. Eyewitnesses said Israeli fighter jets could be heard over the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered his speech.

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More than 2,600 people were injured and at least 37 killed, including two children, when thousands of pagers exploded on Tuesday and walkie talkies exploded on Wednesday. Speculation is mounting over the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, with fears of a wider war following 11 months of exchanges of fire between the two sides.

In a public address on Thursday, his first since the explosions, Mr Nasrallah spoke out to blame Israel for the attacks, saying they “violated all red lines” and dubbed them a “declaration of war”.

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"This is sheer terrorism. We'll call them Tuesday's massacre and Wednesday's massacre. These are war crimes or at least declaration of war," he said, adding that around 4,000 pagers were targeted.

"God is merciful and prevented more deaths and injuries. A number of pagers were out of service or switched off. Some were not allocated and still in storage."

He claimed a number of those affected were “civilians”, although it is widely believed that the affected devices were used by Hezbollah members.

He added: “The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines. Some of the explosions took place in hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, homes, cars and streets where many civilians are present.”

On Wednesday, health minister Firas Abiad said injuries from the walkie talkie explosions were more severe than the previous day as they were bigger than the pagers. He praised Lebanon’s hospitals, saying they had managed to deal with the flood of wounded within hours. Some of the inured are being treated in Iran.

“It was an indiscriminate attack. It was a war crime,” he said.

The Israeli government has called it a war aim to end the Iranian-backed group’s cross-border fire in order to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes near the border.

Mr Nasrallah said the group has formed committees to investigate how the attack occurred. He vowed the group would emerge stronger and continue its daily strikes into northern Israel.

As he spoke, Israel said two of its soldiers were killed by the latest Hezbollah strikes across the Lebanon border.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, Israeli officials said. Its army chief, Lietenant Gen Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah, though media reported the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “We are at the start of a new phase in the war - it requires courage, determination and perseverance.”

He said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the centre of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”