Latest war between Israel and Hamas: Israel turns its attention north to Lebanon and Hezbollah

Israel’s defense minister has declared the start of a “new phase” of the war as Israel turns its attention to the northern front against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Two waves of explosive attacks hit Syria and Lebanon: Apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah that killed at least 12 people and wounded nearly 3,000 others on Tuesday, and walkie-talkies and other electronic devices that exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 450 others.

“We are at the beginning of a new phase of the war – it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Wednesday.

The head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council vowed that the group would respond to Tuesday’s pager attack with “special punishment.”

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the War between Israel and HamasSince then, Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire daily, repeatedly approaching open warfare and forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Gaza’s health ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians were killed in the territory since the Hamas attack on October 7. The ministry does not make any distinction Israel has distinguished between fighters and civilians in its count, but says just over half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

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TOKYO — Japanese wireless communications equipment maker Icom said it could not confirm whether a walkie-talkie used in bomb attacks against Hezbollah was linked to the company, noting that production and sales of the device and its battery were halted about a decade ago.

Osaka-based Icom responded Thursday to a report that one of the walkie-talkies used in the attacks yesterday bore a sticker bearing the company’s logo. Icom also noted that the device in question did not have an anti-counterfeiting holographic sticker, which all genuine Icom products should have.

Yoshiki Enomoto, a company executive, told Japanese broadcaster NTV that he was “surprised” by the news. He added that the company could not confirm whether the device in question was made by Icom.

“There were a lot of fake copies of this specific device on the market,” he said, adding that company officials could only determine its authenticity by seeing its circuitry.

Icom said the IC-V82 wireless radio unit was manufactured for export, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. But production and shipment of its main unit ended about 10 years ago, and the batteries for the main units were also discontinued.

The company said its export models are distributed only through official sales representatives, under strict export control rules set by the Japanese Ministry of Commerce.

All of Icom’s radio equipment is manufactured by its subsidiary Wakayama Icom Inc., under strict safety controls that allow only the use of authorized parts. The products are manufactured exclusively at the Wakayama plant in Japan, Icom said.