The main image on the Financial Times shows CCTV capturing the moment a bag held by a man exploded in a supermarket in Lebanese capital Beirut. The broadsheet writes pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded across the country on Tuesday killing at least eight people and injuring more than 2,700 in an “apparent sabotage” of the devices, which the militant group uses to evade Israeli surveillance. It adds the Iranian-backed group blamed Israel, but the Israeli military declined to comment.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Israel is suspected of being behind what it calls “an audacious attack”. It observes it is unclear whether the pager attack “was designed to weaken the terror group before a possible invasion or was simply a show of strength” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “appease hawks in his country”. Elsewhere, the broadsheet says teachers will be allowed to work from home under Labour plans to tackle recruitment woes in schools.
The Guardian writes Hezbollah “vows to strike back” against Israel. It adds 10-year-old girl was killed in the attacks according to Lebanon’s health minister. Also pictured is a Gisèle Pelicot, whose husband admitted drugging her so that he and dozens of strangers could sexually assault her at her home. The paper quotes Dominique Pelicot saying: “I am a rapist, like the others in this room.”
An injured bloodied man lays on the ground on the front of the Times newspaper. Security analysts say it was possible pagers used by Hezbollah had been rigged with explosives and primed to be detonated remotely, it reports. Other experts said the devices’ lithium batteries may have been made to overheat triggering a blast. The Times off-lead says ministers are quietly ignoring rules requiring civil servants to be in the office three days a week.
The Daily Mail says the Middle East is “holding its breath” following the pager attack. It reports on the harrowing scenes as the devices exploded, writing that victims were “writhing in agony with hideous injuries to their faces, abdomens and even their groins”.
“Exploding pager hell” headlines the Daily Mirror as it too covers what it calls a “bizarre attack” in Lebanon.
The Daily Express says campaigners are warning of “disaster” if the government does not restore the winter fuel allowance. It writes a study found pensioner deaths this winter may be even higher than feared because many stripped of the payment will stop using heating.
“Courage of crossbow carnage victim” headlines the Metro as it reports on the court case involving Kyle Clifford, who is charged with murder of Carol Hunt, Hannah Hunt and Louise Hunt, the wife and two daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer appears alongside zombies as the tabloid writes the living dead could be a possibility. It says a study showed zombie-like cells in a dead organism can keep working.
