The Taliban is forcing even harsher restrictions on women, banishing any remaining hopes that they would be less draconian the second time around. “When it comes to cruelty and restrictions, they are all on the same page.” By Rick Noack washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/…

Thousands of people are injured, 9 killed when pagers distributed by Hezbollah to avert cellphone intercepts simultaneously explode at 3:30 pm. Hospitals are swamped. Israel has no comment, but it’s a major setback for Hezbollah. By suzan Haidamous et al washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Hezbollah's suspicions of booby-trapped pagers expedited #Israel's attack in Lebanon today, senior intelligence sources tell Al-Monitor . Details: al-monitor.com/originals/2024…

Israel had planted small amounts of explosives in the Hezbollah pagers that exploded. They came from a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. They were triggered by a message that beeped the pagers before they exploded. You can hear that in some of the videos nytimes.com/2024/09/17/wor…

Taiwan’s Gold Apollo👇says the exploding pagers bore its brand name but were entirely manufactured by a separate company, BAC Consultancy KFT, based in Budapest. Gold Apollo’s chairman says its payments were “strange” and routed through the Middle East politico.eu/article/israel…

When US Envoy Hochstein visited Israel on Monday, Israeli security officials were tied up in hours of meetings about the soon-to-explode Hezbollah pagers. When they met with him, they didn’t even hint at what was going on, a US official tells Barak Ravid axios.com/2024/09/18/hez…

The exploding pagers revealed Hezbollah’s deep reach into Lebanese society, hitting its vast army of support workers and reservists as well as fighters. “Those who use the pagers are people who do not have just one job.” By susannah george & suzan Haidamous washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/…

A major Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, only the third of the war. It likely targeted a senior Hezbollah official. Israel is escalating with abandon, never mind US efforts to contain the conflict.

The US has touted the lack of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah as an achievement of the past 11 months. But with Israel escalating at will - including just now a strike on Beirut - Washington’s grip on events is unraveling. By John Hudson washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

Israel knows Hezbollah does not want full-war, is capitalizing on strategic logistical, intel and comms errors to hit its ranks, network. Lebanon meanwhile is a spectator in what has been a week of panic, bloodshed and sheer horror.

South #Lebanon is being pounded. I arrived in Beirut earlier. My family has just decided to evacuate. Roads are jammed in Sur. Some poor 4g signal but phones working normally.

Plainclothes man interrupts Al Jazeera broadcast from south Lebanon's Tyre, tells them to turn off the camera. They plead, "We have permission", he insists they stop filming. Broadcast ends.

Israel has unleashed a blitz of air strikes across Lebanon this morning. Mostly in the south but also in eastern Bekaa and near Byblos. Up to 80 strikes in 30 minutes. People report getting phone messages telling them to evacuate areas near Hezbollah. naharnet.com/stories/en/308…

Southern highway - making our way to Beirut - Israeli air strikes along to highway

Good thread by Michael Young

The death toll so far in the Israeli blitz on Lebanon this morning has reached 100, and it’s ongoing. The news is saying this pushes the region closer to all-out war, but for Lebanon this is all-out war. People are fleeing the south. nna-leb.gov.lb/en/justice-law…

The death toll in today’s Israeli strikes on Lebanon has now risen to 274 - Lebanon’s Health Minister. Over 1000 injured.