37 dead, 2,931 injured in 2 days of exploding-device attacks on Hezbollah

Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad speaks during a press conference in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024. (File/Reuters)
Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad speaks during a press conference in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024. (File/Reuters)
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Updated 19 September 2024
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37 dead, 2,931 injured in 2 days of exploding-device attacks on Hezbollah

Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad speaks during a press conference in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024. (File/Reuters)
  • Group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah says mass bombing crossed a ‘red line’ and vows to retaliate against Israel
  • Paramedic tells Arab News about immediate aftermath of explosions, says medical supplies ran out due to sheer number of casualties

BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon caused by exploding communications devices used by members of Hezbollah has risen to 37, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday. The number of people wounded stands at 2,931, he added.

The number of deaths during Wednesday’s second wave of attacks, when booby-trapped walkie-talkies detonated, rose to 25, and 608 injuries have been reported.

The number of people wounded in the first wave on Tuesday, when handheld paging devices exploded, has been revised downward to 2,323 following a review of the data, as a result of the transfer of patients between hospitals and duplication of names. Tuesday’s death toll remains at 12.

Dozens of the injured remain in intensive care, some of whom will require several surgeries.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the two-day mass bombing was a “severe blow” and accused Israeli authorities, who are blamed for the attack by Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, of crossing a “red line.”

But he said his group would continue its daily strikes on targets in northern Israel and vowed Israelis would not be able to return to their homes there until the war in Gaza ends.

As Nasrallah was speaking in a televised speech broadcast from a secret location, Hezbollah and the Israeli military exchanged fire across the border and at least two Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed.

Israeli warplanes flew low over Beirut, breaking the sound barrier and prompting people in houses and offices to rush to open windows to prevent them from shattering.

A paramedic from Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization told Arab News about the immediate aftermath of the explosions.

“Several of the injured who were alone in their homes crawled to the doors of their apartments and called for help,” he said. “Others were reported injured by neighbors who heard explosions from nearby or opposite apartments and called for our assistance.

“Some injured individuals remained in locations unknown to us and they bled to death before their bodies were retrieved on Wednesday night.”

He added that first responders faced great challenges as a result of the sheer numbers of wounded patients requiring help.

“The pressure from the large number of injuries depleted the medical supplies we were provided, particularly IV fluids, and we ended up bandaging wounds on the ground before sending the injured to hospitals for further treatment,” the paramedic said.

“Ambulances themselves were not spared from the explosions of wireless devices inside them. Fortunately, the paramedics were outside the vehicles when they exploded.”

Following the explosions, special units of the Lebanese army were deployed to detonate suspicious devices. The army urged residents “to report any suspicious devices or objects and avoid approaching them.”

The Lebanese population was reeling in the aftermath of the explosions. Movement in the streets has decreased, and many political, social and sporting events were canceled amid fears of further attacks or all-out war.

However, members of Hezbollah and their supporters were busy organizing funerals for those killed in the attacks. In speeches, party leaders vowed “to retaliate against the Israeli enemy, who won’t expect when the strike will come or how painful it will be.”

An Iranian plane landed in Beirut on Wednesday night to take some of the wounded to Tehran for treatment, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.

Media reports in Beirut suggested that “when the pager carried by the Iranian diplomat exploded, he lost one of his eyes and the other was severely injured.”

In Tehran, it was reported that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, visited wounded patients transferred to Tehran.

Independent MP Elias Jaradeh, who is also an eye surgeon, gave an emotional account of the extent of the eye injuries caused by the exploding devices, and the other traumas Lebanon has endured in recent years.

“The scene repeats itself since the Beirut port explosion (in 2020),” he said. “I wish this were the end of the tragedy. I saw part of Lebanon in the injured and as I tried to treat their eyes, I felt like I was repairing a part of Lebanon.”

Abiad, the health minister, praised “the medical and nursing staffs, as well as the administrations of private hospitals in Lebanon which, despite not yet receiving their financial dues from the state for treating victims of the Beirut port explosion four years ago, opened their doors without exception to the wounded Hezbollah members. Everyone worked for free, with dedication and humanity, to save lives.”

Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on “the UN Security Council to take a firm stand to stop the Israeli aggression and the technological war that Israel is waging against Lebanon, which has resulted in hundreds of martyrs and thousands of injuries.”

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, received a telephone call from French President Emmanuel Macron, who offered his condolences and pledged France’s support to help Lebanon recover from the current situation.

Berri labeled the attacks “a clear war crime” and called on French authorities to “support Lebanon’s stance at the UN.” He also urged the wider international community to “press Israel to halt its aggression against the Gaza Strip and Lebanon before it’s too late.”

The Lebanese judiciary opened an investigation “into the serious security incident that left hundreds of Lebanese dead and wounded.”

A judicial source said: “Hezbollah doesn’t follow the legitimate procedures when importing its weapons and ammunition, meaning that the investigation should start from the moment the communication devices were bought, and cover their source and the way they arrived in Lebanon.”

As rumors about the possibility that other devices that use lithium batteries might explode, the Ministry of Communication reassured the public that properly imported “communication devices in Lebanon are safe and controlled before they enter the country.”

Hezbollah started to use less sophisticated, non-smart communication devices amid concerns that electronic surveillance by Israeli authorities had compromised cellphone networks in Lebanon, resulting in recent assassinations carried out by drone strikes.

In February, Nasrallah said: “Cellphones are spy devices and a killer agent, providing accurate and specific information” and so “confronting this issue requires great seriousness.”

Meanwhile, clashes continued along the southern Lebanese front as Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchanged fire. Israeli forces targeted areas on the outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab and Ramiyah with phosphorus and smoke bombs, while warplanes carried out raids on the outskirts of Odaisseh and Kfarkila.

Hezbollah said it targeted “Israeli soldiers in the Al-Burj site with appropriate weapons, killing and injuring them.” It also fired on “the Hanita outpost with artillery shells” and launched “an aerial attack with a squadron of precision drones on the newly established headquarters of the Western Brigade in Yaara, hitting its targets accurately.”

The group said it carried out a similar attack “against the enemy’s artillery emplacements in Beit Hillel, targeting the positioning of commanders and soldiers and hitting them accurately.”


Palestinian PM meets Arab League’s chief in Cairo

Palestinian PM meets Arab League’s chief in Cairo
Updated 3 sec ago
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Palestinian PM meets Arab League’s chief in Cairo

Palestinian PM meets Arab League’s chief in Cairo
  • Mohammad Mustafa says priority is to back Palestinians’ right to remain in Gaza

LONDON: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said during his visit to Egypt on Thursday that the Palestinian Authority was coordinating with Arab countries to address the urgent reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Mustafa met Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, at the organization’s headquarters in Cairo. The parties discussed ongoing humanitarian efforts to assist residents of the Gaza Strip.

Mustafa said that Palestinians in Gaza were experiencing “a difficult period” following US President Donald Trump’s remarks about relocating them to other countries, including Jordan and Egypt, both of which had rejected the idea.

He commended the Arab League’s support and said that the PA had already set in motion actions for rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Israel has bombed the region into rubble since late 2023, killing about 47,000 Palestinians.

Mustafa added that Gaza was part of Palestinian territory and emphasized that PA’s priority was to support Palestinians in the area to remain in the enclave.

He said: “We want to assure our people in the Gaza Strip that we will not leave them in this situation, and the coming days will be better.”

The meeting was attended by Maj. Gen. Ziad Hab Al-Rih, Palestine’s minister of interior; Palestine’s Ambassador to the Arab League Muhannad Al-Aklouk; The Arab League’s Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine Ambassador Saeed Abu Ali; and Ambassador Hossam Zaki, the assistant secretary-general of the Arab League.


Jordanian king arrives in UK ahead of US visit

Jordanian king arrives in UK ahead of US visit
Updated 22 min 34 sec ago
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Jordanian king arrives in UK ahead of US visit

Jordanian king arrives in UK ahead of US visit
  • King Abdullah II met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in London
  • He will meet with US President Donald Trump next week in Washington, D.C.

LONDON: Jordan’s King Abdullah II arrived in the UK on Thursday afternoon ahead of a visit to the US next week.

He met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in London. They discussed historical relations between the two kingdoms, Petra news agency reported.

The Jordanian king will meet US President Donald Trump next week in Washington, D.C. Their talks are expected to focus on events in the Gaza Strip. The king is also scheduled to visit Boston and will be accompanied by Crown Prince Hussein during his trip, Petra added.


Egypt says it will not be part of any proposal that displaces Palestinians

Egypt says it will not be part of any proposal that displaces Palestinians
Updated 06 February 2025
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Egypt says it will not be part of any proposal that displaces Palestinians

Egypt says it will not be part of any proposal that displaces Palestinians
  • Egypt denounced expressions of support by Israeli cabinet members for the plan to create a “Riviera of the Middle East” in Gaza
  • The ministry said: “Egypt stresses the catastrophic consequences of this irresponsible act“

CAIRO: Egypt rejects and will not be part of any proposal to displace Palestinians from Gaza, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, following President Donald Trump’s plan for the US to take over the enclave and his call to Egypt to take in resettled Palestinians.
Egypt, which borders the tiny enclave, denounced expressions of support by Israeli cabinet members for the plan to create a “Riviera of the Middle East” in Gaza under US control.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow for the voluntary departure of Gaza residents from the strip, Israeli media reported.


Apparently referring to Katz’s order, the ministry said: “Egypt stresses the catastrophic consequences of this irresponsible act which weakens the ceasefire negotiations, and would squash them and incite a return of fighting.”
In January Egypt, alongside Qatar and the US, brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ending a 15-month-long war that upended the Middle East. Talks about the second phase of the deal were supposed to get under way this week.


Israeli soldier sentenced to 7 months in jail for abusing Palestinian detainees

Israeli soldier sentenced to 7 months in jail for abusing Palestinian detainees
Updated 06 February 2025
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Israeli soldier sentenced to 7 months in jail for abusing Palestinian detainees

Israeli soldier sentenced to 7 months in jail for abusing Palestinian detainees
  • The court handed the soldier a suspended sentence and demoted him to the rank of private.
  • The military said the soldier had served as a security guard at the detention center but did not say what rank he had held

JERUSALEM: An Israeli soldier who was found to have struck Palestinian detainees while they were restrained and blindfolded has been sentenced to seven months in jail by an Israeli military court.
The Israeli military on Thursday announced the court had accepted a plea agreement with the soldier, a reservist who it said admitted to having “severely abused” Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman military detention center near the border with the Gaza Strip.
“The defendant was convicted of several incidents in which he struck detainees with his fists and his weapon while they were bound and blindfolded,” the military said. It did not name the soldier or detail the charges he was convicted of.
The military statement did not identify where the Palestinian detainees were from, why they had been detained or whether they had since been charged or convicted of crimes or released from detention.
In addition to seven months imprisonment, the court handed the soldier a suspended sentence and demoted him to the rank of private. The military said the soldier had served as a security guard at the detention center but did not say what rank he had held. Israeli media reported the soldier’s jail sentence included time that he had already spent in detention.
The military court found that other masked soldiers had participated in the abuse but that their identities had not been determined, the military said, without saying how many.
The convicted soldier had beaten the detainees in front of other soldiers, some of whom had told him to stop, the military said, adding that a recording of the abuse had been found on the mobile phone of the convicted soldier.
The military has been investigating allegations that soldiers had abused Palestinians from Gaza held in military detention since the start of the war in October 2023. The military on Thursday did not say whether investigations were still ongoing or if any other soldiers had been charged.
In July last year, right-wing Israeli protesters broke into Sde Teiman detention facility and another Israeli military compound after investigators arrived to question soldiers about suspected abuse.
Sde Teiman was opened after the war started and held captured Palestinians from Gaza. Israel last year said it would close the facility.


UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port

UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port
Updated 06 February 2025
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UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port

UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port
  • Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak is a prominent advocate for women’s education and children’s well-being
  • Ship carries 5,800 tons of humanitarian supplies, including food, shelter, medical essentials

LONDON: A ship from the UAE carrying almost 6,000 tons of aid relief to Palestinians arrived on Thursday at Al-Arish Port in Egypt, destined for the Gaza Strip.

The aid shipment is a gift from Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the wife of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the late founder and first president of the UAE.

Known as the Mother of the Nation, she is a prominent advocate for women’s education and children’s well-being.

The ship carries 5,800 tons of humanitarian supplies, including food, shelter materials, and medical essentials. It sailed from Al-Hamriyah Port in Dubai on Jan. 20 as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, aimed at addressing the urgent needs of Palestinians in Gaza.

The aid vessel’s timely arrival before the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, ensures emergency relief for Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Maitha bint Salem Al-Shamsi, the Emirati minister of state; Rashid Mubarak Al-Mansouri, secretary-general of the Emirates Red Crescent; and Maj. Gen. Khaled Megawer, governor of North Sinai, received the ship at Al-Arish Port.

The delegation visited the UAE Floating Hospital in Al-Arish, which provides medical care to Palestinians, and learned about the services available for the injured.

Emirati aid to Palestinians in Gaza was made possible through contributions from the Emirates Red Crescent, the Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan Foundation, the Khalifa bin Zayed Foundation, the Dar Al-Ber Society, and Sharjah Charity International.