Grapevine

Escalation fears spike as Hezbollah vows retaliation for pager attack

Regional leaders warn the assault is driving the Middle East to the brink of all-out war.

Fears of escalation have spiked as Hezbollah promised retaliation against Israel which it blames for an attack in which pagers simultaneously exploded.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Lebanese armed group warned that Israel awaits “a difficult reckoning” for the coordinated attack on Tuesday, which killed 12 people and injured more than 2,800 in Lebanon and in parts of Syria.

The unprecedented cyberattack has revived fears that soaring tensions between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel could spiral into full-blown war.

The indiscriminate attack, which Israel has not commented upon but appears certain to have been conducted by Israeli security services, and the rhetoric emerging from Tehran also raises once more concerns that Israel’s war on Gaza threatens to prompt a regional conflagration.