Detonation of thousands of devices, killing at least nine, could provoke war between Israel and the Lebanese group

• Hezbollah vows retaliation after deadly pager explosions

It may not have been acknowledged by Israel but the extraordinary, coordinated attack on Hezbollah, blowing up thousands of pagers used by members of the Lebanese group, is almost certainly a Mossad operation. The Israeli intelligence service has been engaged in the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders for decades but, if its involvement is confirmed, this represents a significant escalation.

Reports continue to come in but, with at least nine dead and about 3,000 wounded in dozens, if not hundreds, of coordinated explosions, the episode demonstrates a ruthless and indiscriminate desire to target Hezbollah. The group had been using pagers as an alternative to mobile phones, which can be tracked and used to pinpoint deadly missile strikes on its commanders.