The Independent – Now walkie-talkies explode in new cyber attack on Hezbollah
The Independent says Lebanon is reeling after 32 people have now been killed in two days of device explosions across Beirut and other cities. Hand-held walkie-talkie radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon’s south on Wednesday, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group’s pagers the day before.
Elsewhere, Sue Gray and the PM are pictured on the front page as news that Gray received a pay rise after the election – meaning she now earns more than the prime minister. She is reportedly refusing to take a pay cut.
Lebanon pager explosions – latest: Fears of all-out Israel-Hezbollah war grow as attacks on devices kill 32
Fears of an all-out Israel-Hezbollah war are growing after 32 people were killed in two days of device explosions across Lebanon.
Hand-held walkie-talkie radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated across the country’s south on Wednesday, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group’s pagers the day before.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 20 people were killed and more than 450 injured in the second attack in Beirut’s suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from the explosions the previous day rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured.
Israeli officials have not commented on the blasts, but security sources said Israel’s spy agency Mossad was responsible.
“We are opening a new phase in the war. It requires courage, determination and perseverance from us,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, adding that his country’s military focus is shifting to its northern border.
Wednesday marked Lebanon’s deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between Hezbollah and Israel nearly a year ago, heightening fears of an escalation into a full-blown regional war.
The Iran-backed militant group has vowed retaliation after the operations appeared to throw them into disarray.
Top aide Sue Gray reportedly paid more than Prime Minister
Sir Keir Starmer’s top aide reportedly got a pay rise after the general election that put her earnings above the Prime Minister’s.
Chief of staff Sue Gray asked for and was given a salary of £170,000, according to the BBC. This means her earnings are some £3,000 more than those of Sir Keir, who is paid around £167,000 from his MP and Prime Minister’s salaries.
The BBC said a number of Whitehall sources had briefed the organisation on Ms Gray’s salary increase.
Ms Gray, the former Whitehall ethics chief who conducted the partygate investigation and was then drafted into Sir Keir’s team before the election, has recently been the subject of a stream of negative stories.
Special adviser salaries and pay bands are outlined in an annual report.
Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
If you are someone who reads every perspective of a story, here is a news summary of all of today’s front pages from today’s newspapers; summarised in a 2-minute read
Editorial 19 September 2024.
Thursday’s front pages continue to be dominated by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. Electronic pagers across Lebanon exploded simultaneously on Sept. 17, 2024, killing 12 and wounding more than 2,700. The following day, another wave of explosions in the country came from detonating walkie-talkies. The attacks appeared to target members of the militant group Hezbollah.
Israel has yet to comment on the attack but on Wednesday Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that the conflict had entered “a new phase.”
