What to remember from Thursday, September 19

The leader of Hezbollah has threatened Israel with a “terrible” response, following the deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies that he blamed on the Jewish state.

This is not the time for appeasement. In a statement on Thursday, September 19, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with a response “terrible”after the deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies, which he blamed on the Hebrew state. The new toll of the attacks now stands at 37 dead and 3,539 injured, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for his part, assured that the “military actions” against the Islamist movement were going “continue”. Franceinfo summarizes what you need to remember from this new day of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.

Hezbollah leader vows ‘terrible’ response after plane explosions

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah assured Thursday that Israel would receive “a terrible punishment and a just retribution”after the deadly explosions of the Islamist group’s transmission devices in Lebanon, which he attributes to the Hebrew State. Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged that his training had received “a severe and unprecedented blow in the history of Lebanon”.

The Hezbollah leader assured that he would not give any details on “timing, place or nature” of the response that the movement is preparing. He also said that the Islamist group had opened an internal investigation into the explosions. “Lebanon’s front with Israel will remain open until the end of the aggression in Gaza”hammered Hassan Nasrallah, at the moment when the Israeli air force broke the sound barrier above Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Israel continues attacks on Hezbollah

The Israeli army confirmed on Thursday evening that it had carried out new Israeli raids in Lebanon against Hezbollah rocket launchers. “ready to be used immediately to fire on Israeli territory”. “Since this afternoon, [l’armée de l’Air] hit about 100 launchers and other (…) terrorist infrastructure representing about 1,000 guns”according to a statement from the Israeli army.

The IDF has assured its determination to “continue to demolish the infrastructure and capabilities (…) of Hezbollah to defend the State of Israel”as did Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said that the “military actions” against Hezbollah were going “continue”.

The devices that exploded were booby-trapped, authorities say

Devices were booby-trapped, Lebanese mission to UN says. A preliminary investigation by Lebanese authorities shows that the communications devices, which exploded on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September, were booby-trapped before entering the country, according to a letter from the Lebanese mission to the UN, seen by AFP. “Their explosion was caused by sending emails to the device”according to the text sent to the Security Council, on the eve of a meeting on the subject.

Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron advocate diplomacy

Emmanuel Macron spoke directly to the Lebanese people on Thursday in a video on social media, assuring them that a “diplomatic path exists” and that “War is not inevitable”. “Nothing, no regional adventure, no private interest, no loyalty to any cause whatsoever deserves to trigger a conflict in Lebanon”he added, assuring that France was at “sides” Lebanese people.

For his part, the American president believes that a diplomatic resolution of the conflict is “feasible”White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “Of course the conflict along the Blue Line [qui sépare le Liban et Israël] has been going on for too long”she stressed, but “A diplomatic resolution is the best option”.

Turkey accuses ‘Israel of extending war to Lebanon’

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday accused Israel of“extend the war to Lebanon”. “We see that Israel is beginning to intensify its attacks against Lebanon, step by step”the minister said in a live interview with state television channel TRT.

“The escalation in the region is worrying. We have reached the point where, faced with these increasingly provocative operations, Iran, Hezbollah and their close elements have no choice but to react.”he warned.

Flights between Beirut and Tel Aviv remain suspended

Lufthansa and Air France announced on Thursday that they are extending the suspension of their flights to Tel Aviv (Israel) and Beirut (Lebanon). “Due to the security situation at the destination, Air France is suspending its connections” between Paris “and Beirut” and between Paris “and Tel Aviv until September 20”the company said.

Lufthansa has extended the suspension of its flights to Tel Aviv until September 24 inclusive, and until October 26 for Beirut. The German airline has also suspended its flights to Tehran in Iran, until September 24 inclusive.