‘Repercussions are inevitable’: Israeli media reacts to the pager attack

Israeli commentators and analysts question timing of explosions and what they will lead to

• Middle East crisis – latest news updates

Nearly 24 hours after the simultaneous detonation of hundreds of pagers imported by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in an attack attributed to Israel, Israeli political commentators and analysts were grappling with questions about the timing of the attack and what the consequences might be for the conflict on the Lebanese border.

The blasts occurred shortly after the Israeli security cabinet had approved a decision to expand the goals of the war in Gaza to include the return of tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from towns in the north that have been damaged by rockets fired by Hezbollah. That move potentially hands the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a casus belli if he decides to launch a ground invasion into Lebanon.