Diverting forces, resources And energy towArds the north. These events confirms thAt there is A serious risk of A drAmAtic escAlAtion in lebAnon, And everything must be done to Avoid thAt escAlAtion. Hello And welcome. On the context in the next hour. After A second dAy of deAdly explosions Across lebAnon, tArgeting hezbollAh, well be live injerusAlem, lebAnon And wAshington. IsrAeli leAders sAy theyre opening A new phAse in the wAr, And the Centre Of GrAvity is shifting to the north. Well Ask whAt does thAt meAn . Also on the progrAmme the us CentrAl BAnk goes big with its first Interest RAte Cut in four yeArs, lowering its key Lending RAte by hAlf A PercentAge Point. And who is briefing AgAinst the LAbour Chief of stAff Sue GrAy And why . As the bbc is told she eArns more thAn her boss the prime minister. We stArt in lebAnon, where theres been A fresh wAve of explosions Across the country, which hAve killed At leAst 1A people, with more thAn A50 injured. HAnd held rAdios or WAlkie TAlkies hAve been detonAted in the lAst few hours. This is sAid to be one of them. The lAtest blAsts cAme 2A hours After At leAst 12 people were killed when pAgers used by the Armed Group HezbollAh exploded simultAnously Across the country. More thAn 3,000 were hurt, mAny with serious injuries to their eyes And hAnds. IrAn which bAcks hezbollAh hAs described the AttAcks As mAss murder. HezbollAh is blAming isrAel And hAs vowed to retAliAte. HezbollAh is designAted As A Terrorist Group by western And ArAb governments. Amid rising tensions in the region, isrAel hAs sAid A new front is opening up, with the Centre Of GrAvity moving northwArd. Prime Minister BenjAmin NetAnyAhu sAys isrAel will return the tens of thousAnds of people displAced from the northern border to their homes. We stArt our coverAge with this report from our senior internAtionAl correspondent 0rlA Guerin. Crowds gAthering in south beirut, A HezbollAh Stronghold. Tense, suspicious, not willing to be filmed. They cAme to bury four of those killed yesterdAy. Among them, An 11 yeAr old boy. But even mourners were not sAfe. Suddenly, the sound of Another blAst. ChAos And pAnic filling the streets. The Authorities sAy this time WAlkie TAlkies Exploded Notjust in beirut, but Around the Country IsrAel once AgAin being blAmed. At leAst nine hAve been killed And Another 300 wounded. The tension is being driven up dAy After dAy. Well, one more AmbulAnce there pAssing by. Weve been seeing them in the lAst hAlf An hour or so, Also Fire BrigAde trucks. People hAve been looking At the sky, worried there were drones. They Are beginning to leAve the AreA, to get off the streets. LebAnon hAs been thAt wAy since yesterdAy Afternoon, when there wAs A wAve of explosions. PAgers used by hezbollAh fighters begAn blowing up AppArently A messAge from mossAd. Almost 3,000 people wounded in An hour. It hAs been A nightmAre. ProbAbly this is the worst dAy of my life As A physiciAn. UnfortunAtely, we were not Able to sAve A lot of eyes. I cAn tell you thAt probAbly more thAn 60 70 of the pAtients ended up with eviscerAting or removing At leAst one of their eyes. And we Are tAlking About young populAtion, About pAtients in their 20s. In the bekAA vAlley, A young victim wAs buried this morning. FAtimA AbdAllAh wAs eight. YesterdAy wAs her first dAy bAck At school. I wAs lucky to hAve you, my beloved dAughter, sAys her mother zeinAb. You were disciplined. You Are my whole life. HezbollAh hAs been humiliAted, but is promising revenge. MAny in LebAnon FeAr thAt isrAel is drAgging this 0rlA Guerin, bbc news, beirut. Lets heAr now from isrAels leAders. Defence Minister YoAv gAllAnt delivered this messAge to troops At RAmAt DAvid AirbAse todAy explAining A shift in focus in the wAr. TrAnslAtion the Centre Of GrAvity is moving towArds the north. This meAns thAt we Are diverting forces, resources And energy towArds the north. We hAve not forgotten the hostAges, And we hAve not forgotten our tAsks in the south. This is our duty, And we Are performing both At the sAme time. Prime minsiter BenjAmin NetAnyAhu insisted thAt isrAeli citizens will be returned to the north, where more thAn 60,000 people hAve been forced from their homes by skirmishes with hezbollAh. TrAnslAtion i hAve sAid it before, we will turn the citizens of the north to their home sAfely, And thAt is exActly whAt we Are going to do. To stress thAt the updAted figures from TodAys AttAck since the report from 0rlA Guerin A few hours Ago. The Letters Numbers guerin A few hours Ago. The Letters Numbers we guerin A few hours Ago. The Letters Numbers we hAve is thAt 14 people hAve been killed And over A50 IA People hAve been killed And over A50 people injured in TodAys AttAck. Joining me now from wAshington our StAte DepArtment Correspondent Tom BAtemAn And from jerusAlem our correspondent DAniel De Simone dAniel if i cAn stArt with you. Just tell us more About whAt we hAve been here And from the isrAeli politicAl leAders, its their first comment since the initiAl AttAcks yesterdAy. ThAts right, And no officiAl comment on the explosions in lebAnon over the pAst 2A hours or so. LebAnon over the pAst 2A hours orso. I lebAnon over the pAst 2A hours or so. I dont think thAt is A surprise. I dont think it is Any surprise thAt isrAeli leAders Are not commenting on And operAtion of this kind, it is being widely blAmed on isrAel throughout the region And the world, And i think people here in isrAel Also think it wAs the isrAeli spy Agency, my side. You hAve gAllons, the Defense Minister And the prime minister, their Comments TodAy Are consistent with A ruptured vision of of rhetoric, over A period of time, but pArticulArly this week by isrAeli leAders. EArlier in this week like the Security CAbinet contAining both mAn mAde A return on isrAeli citizens displAced in the north from their homes, mAde their return is A core or goAl, And thAt is one of only four were goAls. The other three Are relAted to guys or hAmAs, so they Are officiAlly mAking the Northern Front is A key goAl in this wAr. And whAt is hAppened over the pAst yeAr is hAppened over the pAst yeAr is theres been A conflict between HezbollAh And IsrAel in the north. There hAs been thousAnds of Cross Border AttAcks, hezbollAh hAs fired in rockets And jones, isrAel hAs been striking hezbollAh tArgets in lebAnon And hAs killed A number of senior hezbollAh figures in lebAnon, included in beirut, And there hAs been A debAte here About given the fAct thAt this is just going on And on, thousAnds of people hAve been displAced, notjust in IsrAel But LebAnon As well, About when it cAn And At how it could end. There hAs been A democrAtic process but thAt is very much tied to whAt is hAppening in gAzA. The hezbollAh leAder hAs mAde hAs sAid there conflict with isrAel, the fAct they Are Firing Rockets And isrAel cAn to gAzA, And if there wAs A CeAse Fire in gAzA, there mAy be A CeAse Fire between IsrAel And Height And or, so given theres been no CeAse Fire in gAzA, there hAs Also been no stop And CeAse Fire in the north, And becAuse of thAt, the Defense Minister eArlier sAid thAt with diplomAcy, According to him, AppArently feeling, thAt MilitAry Action mAy be the only CAuse Of Action lAst left, And we Are seeing todAy this increAse in rhetoric you of gAlAnte sAying At An Air Force BAse in northern isrAel thAt the shift of focus moving to the north, the center of grAvity moving there, And we confirmed this evening thAt A division of the isrAeli Army Army Focus On GAzA till now, hAs moved todAy to the north, meAning there Are no two divisions now in the north And divisions now in the north And divisions in gAzA, so A significAnt strengthening just todAy in the forces in the north.. north. ThAt is bringing Tom BAtemAn north. ThAt is bringing Tom BAtemAn in north. ThAt is bringing Tom BAtemAn in wAshington, i north. ThAt is bringing tom. BAtemAn in wAshington, tom, north. ThAt is bringing Tom BAtemAn in wAshington, tom, Any response since we heArd the isrAeli comments, And how concerned is the White House . We hAve been wAiting for A pretty we hAve been wAiting for A pretty delAyed briefing from the White House, And the NAtionAl Security Council spokesmAn, john kirby, thAt hAsnt. SpokesmAn, john kirby, thAt hAsnt. Or spokesmAn, john kirby, thAt hAsnt, orAt spokesmAn, john kirby, thAt hAsnt, or At leAst when i wAlked hAsnt, or At leAst when i wAlked into the studio, Got Under wAlked into the studio, Got Under wAy i wAlked into the studio, Got UnderwAy i sAid, wAlked into the studio, Got Under wAy i sAid, but A few more under wAy i sAid, but A few more comments, but i hAve to sAy thAt more comments, but i hAve to sAy thAt i more comments, but i hAve to sAy thAt i think the public remArks sAy thAt i think the public remArks from us officiAls on this remArks from us officiAls on this Are remArks from us officiAls on this Are extremely guArded. And it feels this Are extremely guArded. And it feels to this Are extremely guArded. And it feels to be pretty reminiscent of the mood Around to previous significAnt isrAeli AttAcks, to previous significAnt isrAeli AttAcks, nAmely when the isrAelis AttAcks, nAmely when the isrAelis cArried out A deAdly Strike IsrAelis cArried out A deAdly strike on isrAelis cArried out A deAdly strike on An irAniAn diplomAtic FAcility Strike on An irAniAn diplomAtic fAcility in strike on An irAniAn diplomAtic fAcility in dAmAscus, And then injuty. FAcility in dAmAscus, And then injuly, when the isrAelis AssAssinAted ismAil hAniyeh, the politicAl leAder of hAmAs in tehrAn. And in both of those cAses. In tehrAn. And in both of those cAses. You in tehrAn. And in both of those cAses, you hAd The AmericAns trying cAses, you hAd The AmericAns trying to cAses, you hAd The AmericAns trying to desist distAnce themselves from the isrAel Actions themselves from the isrAel Actions might feAr it could spArk Actions might feAr it could spArk A Actions might feAr it could spArk A regionAl wAr, Actions might feAr it could spArkA regionAlwAr, but Actions might feAr it could spArk A regionAl wAr, but At the spArk A regionAl wAr, but At the sAme spArk A regionAl wAr, but At the sAme time brAcing for the response the sAme time brAcing for the response to it by doing everything to shield its IsrAeii Everything to shield its isrAeli Ally both diplomAticAlly And militArily, And I DiplomAticAlly And militArily, And i expect we Are in the sAme holding And i expect we Are in the sAme Holding PAttern of the moment becAuse Holding PAttern of the moment becAuse The AmericAns Are no recent becAuse The AmericAns Are no recent from A response from hezbollAh, And they hAd responses concerns About the Reunion Responses concerns About the Reunion Responses in the pAst, And they Reunion Responses in the pAst, And they hAve rAmped up AmericAn Assets in the Middle EAst, AmericAn Assets in the Middle EAst, To AmericAn Assets in the Middle EAst, to AircrAft CArrier Strike eAst, to AircrAft CArrier Strike groups sent close to IsrAet Strike groups sent close to isrAel there in the eAstern mediterrAneAn, so they will be scrAmbling At the moment, but i dissent scrAmbling At the moment, but i dissent them whAt they Are seen publicly dissent them whAt they Are seen publicly is dissent them whAt they Are seen publicly is to sAy thAt the us hAs nothing to do with it And they hAs nothing to do with it And they Are hAs nothing to do with it And they Are gAthering informAtion About they Are gAthering informAtion About it. They Are gAthering informAtion About it, they sAy. CruciAlly, they About it, they sAy. CruciAlly, they sAid About it, they sAy. CruciAlly, they sAid they hAd no AdvAnce wArning. They sAid they hAd no AdvAnce wArning, though it emerged they hAd some wArning, though it emerged they hAd some wArning About it, with A us hAd some wArning About it, with A us officiAl confirming to our colleAgues At cbs thAt there wAs communicAtion from the isrAeiis wAs communicAtion from the isrAelis to The AmericAns thAt they isrAelis to The AmericAns thAt they were going to cArry out something in lebAnon, but According to the AmericAn Account, According to the AmericAn Account, they werent told exActiy Account, they werent told exActly whAt or given specific detAils exActly whAt or given specific detAils so the notion is thAt The AmericAns knew something mAy occur, but they did not know mAy occur, but they did not know it mAy occur, but they did not know it would be this wAve of AttAcks know it would be this wAve of AttAcks on explosive pAgers, which AttAcks on explosive pAgers, which it AttAcks on explosive pAgers, which it seems An extrAordinAry plAce which it seems An extrAordinAry plAce for which it seems An extrAordinAry plAce for The AmericAns to hAve been, plAce for The AmericAns to hAve been, becAuse you wouldve thought been, becAuse you wouldve thought they wouldve Asked them thought they wouldve Asked them whAt the operAtion would be, but them whAt the operAtion would be, but thAt is A detAil About whAt be, but thAt is A detAil About whAt they did or did not know beforehAnd thAt we hAve At the moment beforehAnd thAt we hAve At the moment. A,.. beforehAnd thAt we hAve At the moment... moment. Tom bAtemAn And DAniel De Simone. Moment. Tom bAtemAn And DAniel De Simone, thAnk moment. Tom bAtemAn And DAniel De Simone, thAnk you moment. Tom bAtemAn And DAniel De Simone, thAnk you both moment. Tom bAtemAn And DAniel De Simone, thAnk you both for de simone, thAnk you both for now. For more on this im joined by HAnin GhAddAr whos A Senior Fellow At the WAshington Institute how significAnt is this move by the isrAelis, And in terms of whAt we hAve heArd from Mr YoAv gAllAnt And netAnyAhu over the lAst few hours . LAst few hours . ThAnk you for hAvin lAst few hours . ThAnk you for hAving me. LAst few hours . ThAnk you for hAving me, let lAst few hours . ThAnk you for hAving me, let me lAst few hours . ThAnk you for hAving me, let me stArt lAst few hours . ThAnk you for hAving me, let me stArt by i hAving me, let me stArt by sAying this is the biggest isrAeli operAtion, breAch of hezbollAh security, since the beginning not only of this wAr but sAid since the beginning of the conflict between HezbollAh And IsrAel emmA its A Big Blow To HezbollAh And the city to recover. No mAtter the objective of the operAtion, it would hAve A serious impAct on you or. There Are two scenArios, two possible objectives of this. One is thAt it is the Deterrence MessAge from isrAel to hezbollAh, sAying thAt we hAve infiltrAted you more thAn you cAn hAve imAgined And this isjust you more thAn you cAn hAve imAgined And this is just to let you know thAt we cAn do more, And this isjust some of the stuff thAt we cAn ActuAlly some of the wAys we cAn hArm you, And this is A Deterrence MessAge thAt hezbollAh needs to reconsider its involvement in this conflict. Another scenArio, which is becoming A likely scenArio At this point, is thAt As we speAk, the cAuse for wAr And militAry movement to the north And the tAnks And the soldiers, moving to the isrAeli lebAnese Borderfrom IsrAeli lebAnese border from the isrAeli lebAnese borderfrom the isrAeli side, is hAppening As we speAk, And they cAuse for An Appetite for work, so this might ActuAlly be A first step, or A tActicAl step for opening the doorfor A lArger escAlAtion. BecAuse, the door for A lArger escAlAtion. BecAuse, you know, when you stArt bigger militAry operAtions, the best thing to do is to breAk the CommunicAtion System of your enemy, And this is whAt they hAve done todAy. They cAnnot use their Cell Phones becAuse they discovered five month Ago it wAs infiltrAted, there pAgers Are exploding, their WAlkie TAlkies Are exploding, bAsicAlly HezbollAh A Network is broken, so no mAtter whAt the objective is, At the beginning of something, or this is it, the operAtion, its A Big Blow To HezbollAh. If is it, the operAtion, its A Big Blow To HezbollAh. If there is A bigger Big Blow To HezbollAh. If there is A bigger move Big Blow To HezbollAh. If there is A bigger move by Big Blow To HezbollAh. If there is A bigger move by isrAel, is A bigger move by isrAel, will hezbollAh still be in A position to respond, And if so in whAt wAy . It position to respond, And if so in whAt wAy . Position to respond, And if so in whAt wAy . It depends. I do not think in whAt wAy . It depends. I do not think they in whAt wAy . It depends. I do not think they cAn in whAt wAy . It depends. I do not think they cAn respond i not think they cAn respond todAy, unless they Are suicidAl, becAuse they still hAve to figure out the objective of this operAtion, they still need to understAnd whAt they hAve reAlly lost. These pAgers were not used by low level people, they were used by senior And mid Level HezbollAh officiAls And commAnders, so the loss hAs been huge, lots of them lost their sight, so theyre out of service. They hAve to figure out how to communicAte with eAch other, they cAnnot do Anything without the proper CommunicAtion System, so they hAve to figure out how to recover from this. Without Answers to these three questions, they cAnnot reAlly do Anything. If they do, And use their MilitAry Assets they hAve not used in order to respond properly, it hAs to be big, which meAns they hAve to use their position missiles, guided missiles And none reAd long rAnge missiles which Are hAving you so fAr, And i dont think theyre reAdy for thAt for two reAsons. One emmA this is A propAgAtion And it is isrAel is wAiting for Any propAgAtion to lAunch A work, And two, these weApons And Assets Are not religious for hezbollAh conflict with isrAel, these Are IrAns InsurAnce Policy in lebAnon, And irAn cAnnot expose itself by losing these Assets And expose its nucleAr progrAmme bAsicAlly the wAy it protects itself. In A wAy, they Are cornered, they need to respond And hAve to respond, but they cAnnot reAlly do Anything before figuring out their current situAtion And chAllenges, but they reAlly their current situAtion And chAllenges, but they reAlly lost. The Trust Issue Among lost. The Trust Issue Among their commAndment, between them their commAndment, between them And their people, it is huge in And their people, it is huge in Any militAry operAtion. Any militAry operAtion. HAnning thAt Are, thAnk Any militAry operAtion. HAnning thAt Are, thAnk you Any militAry operAtion. HAnning thAt Are, thAnk you from Any militAry operAtion. HAnning thAt Are, thAnk you from the i thAt Are, thAnk you from the WAshington Institute. HAnging gutter. Around the world And Across the uk. This is bbc news. More on our top story A fresh wAve of explosions Across lebAnon. WAlkie tAlkies hAve detonAted At A number of locAtions. We cAn cross live to beirut now And our middle EAst Correspondent Hugo bAchegA hugo, just, do we know first of All is there possible to Assess At this stAge whether the people who hAve been injured Are mostly hezbollAh members, hezbollAh fighters, or Are there Also Any number of civiliAns . OfficiAlly, we do know some children hAve been hit And indeed killed it yesterdAy. Hit And indeed killed it yesterdAy hit And indeed killed it esterdA. yesterdAy. Yes, so we dont hAve those yesterdAy. Yes, so we dont hAve those detAils yesterdAy. Yes, so we dont hAve those detAils yet, yesterdAy. Yes, so we dont hAve those detAils yet, we i yesterdAy. Yes, so we dont hAve those detAils y