Israel bombs Lebanon, says it thwarts assassination plot

[Pelican Press 0]

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******* ****** Lebanon, says it thwarts ************** plot

By James Mackenzie

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -******* bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday and said it had thwarted an Iran-backed ************** plot, a day after explosions of Hezbollah radios followed blasts in ****** trapped pagers, setting the foes hurtling towards war.

The sophisticated attacks on communications equipment used by Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah have sown disarray in Lebanon, and are increasingly viewed as heralding a return to all-out war, last fought 18 years ago.

Hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon’s south in the country’s deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and ******* in parallel with the Gaza war nearly a year ago.

The previous day, hundreds of pagers – used by Hezbollah to evade mobile phone surveillance – exploded at once, ******** 12 people including two children, and injuring nearly 3,000.

******* has not commented directly on the attacks, but multiple security sources have said was carried out by its spy agency Mossad.

******** security services said on Thursday they had arrested an ******** citizen last month on suspicion of involvement in an Iranian-backed ************** plot. The businessman with connections in Turkey had attended at least two meetings in Iran to discuss assassinating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister or the head of the Shin Bet spy agency.

Overnight, ******** jets and artillery hit multiple targets in southern Lebanon, *******’s military said.

The military said 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.

******** media reported that a number of ******** civilians had been wounded by anti-tank missile ***** from Lebanon but there was no official confirmation.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired around 20 projectiles into *******, most of which were intercepted by air defence systems without causing any injuries, the military said.

SHIFTING FOCUS

******* and Hezbollah have been exchanging ***** across the ********-Lebanon border in parallel with the war ******* has waged in Gaza against ******, the ************ militant group whose fighters attacked ******* on Oct. 7.

Tens of thousands of people have had to flee the *******-Lebanon border area on both sides. Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return the evacuated Israelis “securely to their homes”.

On Wednesday, ******** Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the war was moving into a new phase, with more resources and military units now being shifted to the northern border.

According to ******** officials, the forces being deployed there include the 98th Division, an elite formation including commando and paratroop elements that has been fighting in Gaza.

Hezbollah launched missile barrages on ******* on the day after the Oct. 7 ******* by ****** and since then there has been a constant exchange of ***** that neither side has allowed to escalate into a full-scale war.

However, tens of thousands have been evacuated on both sides of the border, and there has been mounting pressure in ******* for the government to get the evacuees back home.

(Editing by Gareth Jones and Michael Georgy)

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#******* #****** #Lebanon #thwarts #************** #plot

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