Hezbollah chief calls pager, radio attacks an ‘act of war’ by Israel

CAIRO — Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah blamed Israel on Thursday for the explosion of electronic devices across Lebanon this week, calling the operation an “act of war” and vowing to respond, as the Israeli military signaled it was moving ahead with plans for a new phase of the conflict along the two countries’ border.

“It is an act of war against the people of Lebanon, Lebanon’s sovereignty. It is a declaration of war,” Nasrallah said in a televised address, his first remarks since pagers used by Hezbollah began exploding simultaneously on Tuesday, followed by the detonation of hundreds of walkie-talkies and other devices Wednesday.