Israel has not commented on the attacks that killed 37 people and wounded nearly 3,000 over two days but has said it will widen the scope of its war in Gaza to include the Lebanon front.

“Such terrorist acts, that are undoubtedly due to the desperation and successive failures of the Zionist regime, will soon be met with a crushing response from the resistance front,” Guards commander General Hossein Salami said in a message to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, quoted by state media.

The resistance front led by Iran includes Tehran-backed groups across the Middle East, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and Shiite armed groups in Iraq as well as Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In April, Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, after it bombed an annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

Most were intercepted by allied air forces or Israel’s own air defenses.

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The Iran-backed group blamed Israel for the first wave of blasts on Tuesday, vowing revenge and stoking fears of all-out war in the region.

“The new wave of walkie-talkie explosions… killed nine people and wounded more than 300,” the health ministry said in a statement.

A source close to the Iran-backed group said walkie-talkies used by its members exploded in its Beirut stronghold during the funerals of Hezbollah members killed in Tuesday’s blasts.

“A number of walkie-talkies exploded in Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the source said, with Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers confirming devices had exploded inside two cars in the area.

The explosions caused panic, according to an AFP photographer covering the funerals.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported “pagers” and “devices” had also exploded in Hezbollah strongholds in the east and south, with AFP correspondents hearing explosions in those regions.

A hospital source in the eastern city of Baalbek told AFP 25 people had been wounded after walkie-talkies exploded.

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The son of Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar was among the dead, a source close to the group told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The source had earlier said the son of another Hezbollah lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, was also killed, but later confirmed that the son was alive but injured.

The blasts “killed nine people, including a girl,” minister Firass Abiad said in a casualty update.

“About 2,800 people were injured, about 200 of them critically” with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands, and stomach, he added.

The 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed in east Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley when his pager exploded, her family and a source close to the group said.

Iran’s ambassador to Beirut was also wounded in a pager explosion but his injuries were not serious, state media reported.

In neighboring Syria, 14 people were wounded “after pagers used by Hezbollah exploded,” Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Israeli military said it had “no comment,” when contacted by AFP about the pager blasts.

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In a memorandum released Friday, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said the department will improve the tracking of all service members’ cognitive health by regularly conducting assessments.

This is meant to spot potential effects on soldiers of repeated blast exposures from early career onward.

At present, the military only provides baseline cognitive testing to soldiers ahead of their official deployment. This often results in failure to spot potential brain injuries from training or combat missions.

“Experiences by [soldiers] in training and operational environments demonstrate possible adverse effects on brain health and cognitive performance (e.g., headache, decreased reaction time, attention difficulty, memory loss),” Hicks wrote.

“Brain health effects from [blast] exposures are not yet fully understood, but adverse health and cognitive performance impacts have been reported.”

The long-term cognitive testing for active-duty troops will begin in 2025.

Standoff Distance

In addition to regular cognitive assessments, the new policy will ensure that protective equipment is provided to anyone firing certain weapons.

There will also be specific safe distances for instructors to follow depending on the weapons being used during training.

For example, instructors should stand 16 feet (4.9 meters) farther from a soldier firing an M3 anti-armor and anti-personnel weapon.

They are also obliged to be at least 7 feet (2.1 meters) away from personnel training with an M107 sniper rifle.

When firing indirect fire systems or mortars, soldiers should assume a posture as close to the ground as possible to avoid blast effects.

Long Called For

The new blast policy comes amid growing pressure from American lawmakers for increased troop protection from blasts.

Earlier this year, a panel of experts told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel that even low-level blast exposure can cause symptoms similar to traumatic brain injury.

The policy was released nine months after a US Army reservist went on a shooting rampage in Maine and killed 18 people.

An autopsy report revealed that the suspect likely suffered from a traumatic brain injury as he was a longtime instructor at a hand grenade training range.

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Managed by the army’s Humanitarian Demining Research and Development, BORIS is modern software designed for civilian bomb disposal missions.

It features scanning, identification, visualization, data processing, and range estimation to aid technicians and engineers in associated tasks.

It has a graphical user interface that supports information relay with a variety of sensor platforms and enables coordination across field squad members with different levels of expertise.

Moreover, the tool incorporates an automatic target recognition function to streamline sensor data, amplifying detection sensitivity and decreasing false alarms for faster clearing operations.

Addressing Next-Gen Threats

BORIS has been active for over a decade in different non-military humanitarian mine organizations across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, including Ukraine.

Other applications BORIS has been deployed for include bomb test sites and munitions development.

Scientific Systems noted that the technology has covered thousands of unexploded ordnance throughout “millions of square meters of land” to date.

“In the wake of conflicts, the remnants of war including undetonated bombs and other explosives have triggered humanitarian crises by blocking access to aid, preventing families from returning home and killing innocent civilians,” Scientific Systems President Kunal Mehra stated.

“Clearing former battlefields of explosives has long been dangerous and painstaking work, but game changing new technology is helping to make this process more effective, efficient, and safer.”

“Our BORIS software has played its part in this effort by providing governments and humanitarian organizations with a powerful tool to remove unexploded ordnance and help people across the globe rebuild their lives after the battle has ended.” 

“We are proud to continue our work with the United States Army to upgrade BORIS to help address a new generation of unexploded threats on the battlefield and in the aftermath of conflicts.”

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The event involved preparations in command and communication skills to upskill the teams’ ability to localize threats, detect explosives, and find missing persons in various settings.

Sessions involved scent detection simulations in outdoor and low-light environments, suspect apprehension, and search and rescue, some of which required the use of night-vision equipment.

Throughout the program, the US soldiers and their counterparts worked through cultural differences and training approaches that boosted their cooperation.

Participants involved military and law enforcement units from Germany and Luxembourg.

Activities were led by the US Air Force 52nd Security Forces Squadron (SFS) Military Working Dog (MWD) Section in partnership with the US Army 100th Military Police MWD Detachment and the 86th Security Forces Squadron.

“The knowledge learned from the events our teams were run through today will allow us to set forth a training plan that will strengthen our capabilities over time,” Military Police Brigade Operations Officer Sgt. Aaron Vinson explained.

Canine Medical Support Covered

During the training, US Army animal care specialists from the Veterinary Readiness Activity Rheinland-Pfalz also facilitated hands-on canine tactical combat casualty care for handlers.

Trainees received first-aid lessons using the TecMed-developed Advanced K9 Medical Trainer mannequin, which offers realistic anatomy, breathing, reactions, and health concerns of a working dog.

“These are areas we all have some level of expertise in,” said 52nd SFS SWD/MWD Section Trainer Staff Sgt. Nathan Fortmayer stated.

“As the hosts, we wanted to make sure we provided teams with realistic scenarios the dog teams could very well face, so they not only get the training, but get it in a way where we all learn something from each other as a result.”

“To us, these dogs are much more than dogs – they’re partners. We care about these dogs the same way we would any human because they defend us with their lives. It’s critical we can help them when they are most vulnerable.”

Reconstructing Military Working Dog Center in Germany

The Spangdahlem training followed a US Department of Defense announcement in September 2023 to revamp an American military working dog facility in Germany.

Located in Grafenwöhr, the $4.6-million project will establish a permanent center to replace an aging kennel built over 100 years ago.

Assets at the site will involve canine equipment and multiple hubs designed for training, medical needs, supply storage, and administrative tasks.

The center will be open to US joint force dogs and handlers deployed in the European, African, and NATO theaters.

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A vacuum bomb, also known as a volumetric detonation bomb or thermobaric weapon, is an explosive munition that creates a destructive blast wave from a fuel-air mixture.

Because it is made up of almost 100 percent fuel, it is more energetic and powerful than conventional explosives.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that around 300 Ukrainian soldiers were killed following an “accurate” airstrike using a vacuum bomb.

The exact location of the strike was not disclosed, but Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Alexei Kim said it happened at a “deployment point of the ‘Kraken’ nationalist formation,” referring to a Ukrainian special intelligence unit.

Destructive Power

Vacuum bombs disperse an aerosol cloud of gas, liquid, or powdered explosive to neutralize a target.

It is so powerful that a blast reportedly collapses buildings and ruptures human organs.

Walls or even caves cannot guarantee a soldier’s protection when targeted by a thermobaric weapon.

Typically, vacuum bombs are fired from hand-held launchers but can also be launched from aircraft.

Russia operates the TOS-1A thermobaric weapon, which can “suck the air out of victims’ lungs,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Given its destructive power, the Ukrainian military was urged to destroy the weapons before invading forces could use them.

‘Absolute Nonsense’

A spokesperson for the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine denied Moscow’s claims, telling CNN that the statement was “absolute nonsense.”

He also said the claim could be part of Russia’s latest propaganda, which includes the alleged killing of 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.

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The project aims to replenish Tallinn’s military stockpile and address its future ammunition requirements. Future products will also support foreign arms sales to allied countries.

The area will include basic infrastructure constructed by the state in addition to production facilities to be built by partner companies.

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur signed the park’s spatial plan proposal and corresponding environmental impact assessment on Wednesday.

“The European ammunition production capacity still remains at a lower level than necessary in the context of the changing security situation and the war in Ukraine,” Pevkur stated.

“For our part, we also want to create the preconditions for ammunition production in Estonia, so that both our own Defence Forces and our allies could buy ammunition produced in Estonia.”

A decision regarding the proposal is expected after 18 months. Work for the site’s initial bullet production will begin in two and a half years.

Location Options

According to Estonian Defence Industry Development Special Adviser Indrek Sirp, the park’s exact location is now being settled. Building rights will follow after the plan’s approval.

“The preliminary analysis has been completed and four areas in three municipalities – the Lääne-Nigula rural municipality, the Lüganuse rural municipality, and the city of Pärnu have been selected,” Sirp said.

“In the municipality of Pärnu, the planning area is located on the territory of the Audru and Tõstamaa municipal districts.”

Adding Explosives Production

Simultaneously, the defense ministry will arrange feasibility studies to incorporate the complex with capabilities supporting explosives production.

“Explosives production is essentially a chemical industry. It is likely to require many more resources, such as water and energy, than ammunition production. There is a major explosives production capacity shortage in Europe,” Sirp stated.

“If the feasibility analysis shows that it is economically and technologically viable, then we can find a location for an explosives plant in the course of the national designated spatial plan process, but it does not have to be in the same location as ammunition production.”

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Individuals affected by BOP commonly experience headaches, slow reaction time, and slow cognitive processing. BOP can be an effect of explosive detonations and shockwaves in addition to weapon system fires.

For the project, experts identified the top 3 to 5 overpressure weapon systems generating BOP in each US military service.

Data from the study was used to establish “Tier 1” weapons used in the field. The systems were categorized under shoulder-mounted weapons, .50-caliber small arms, howitzers, mortars, and demolition explosives.

Alongside documenting BOP brain effects, the US reviews safety precautions for BOP to determine their effectiveness or update their corresponding methods.

“We’re striving to get involved in the very early stages of weapon system development to establish these criteria,” Defense Centers for Public Health – Aberdeen Health Hazard Assessment Chief Dr. Timothy Kluchinsky stated.

“We’re establishing an equation for weapon developers, testers, and assessors to facilitate identification of the effects of a weapon on a warfighter’s brain health.”

“The ultimate goal is coming up with ways to reduce the exposure to a crew or service member, while still allowing the weapon design to meet the other key performance parameters.”

Information gathered through the study is being leveraged for the Joint Service Member Occupational Health Assessments, which aids commanders and associated risk managers in overseeing potential occupational hazards from weapon systems during training and combat.

Supporting Warfighter Brain Health Initiative

The effort is part of the US Department of Defense’s ongoing Warfighter Brain Health Initiative (WBHI).

Launched in June, the program explores operational and medical capabilities to enhance brain health and alleviate traumatic brain injuries in service members.

One focus of the program is to track soldier brain health from induction to retirement.

“We want you in for the long haul, and we want you to have a highly functional and productive life when you leave the military,” WBHI Lead Kathy Lee explained.

“We’re offering a mitigation strategy to try to keep service members safe and then the recognition that if they have these symptoms, go get checked out, go and get a medical person to do some eyes on, to do a quick assessment, and check those things that we talked about.”

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Throughout the 21-year initiative, navy experts developed a JDAM Assault Breaching System (JABS) to clear mines and associated obstacles before an amphibious assault in a coastal battlespace.

The JABS combines 2,000-pound-class (907 kilograms) guided bombs, usually Mark 84 or BLU-117 general-purpose bombs, with mission planning and lethality database software to aid soldiers in identifying and localizing threats.

Finalizing a 21-Year Effort

The program concluded with a milestone in which the JABS trialed with a foreign anti-landing mine at an operational water depth setting in a shallow water explosive test pond.

It fully validated the system’s performance against various anti-landing and anti-tank mines at different depths and in water conditions that the US Navy could encounter.

The effort was led by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City Division in partnership with the NSWC Indian Head Division, Eglin Air Force Base, and support contractors under Innovative Professional Solutions, Inc.

“For the final test, and the test series in general, we were very happy with everything we have learned as every test helped us understand performance against that mine type, and improved our predictions against future similar targets,” NSWC Panama JABS Project Engineer Jonathan Millhollon stated.

“The final test results are being analyzed and will be delivered… for use in assault breach mission planning.”

“Without the final test, the fleet would have less confidence planning against this threat type, and would either have to accept additional risk to the landing force or drop an excessive number of munitions to be confident that the threats had been cleared.”

Future of the JABS Program

The JABS program was launched in 2002 to seek multiple innovations for secure mine-clearing tasks.

In 2006, the Mark 84 JDAM was selected as the solution for the project and assigned as the dedicated assault breaching capability for the JABS system.

Following more than two decades of work, JABS experts will continue to further enhance the US Navy’s mine countermeasure capabilities.

“[This fiscal year], the program will be transitioning to sustainment,” Millhollon stated. “We are wrapping up the data analysis from FY23, delivering our final lethality prediction curves… and archiving the past decades of data for future reference.”

“During the interim, we will be standing by to support the Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center as they review the updated JABS tactical memorandum for transition [to] doctrine, and we will maintain a reach-back capability for tactics or software support.”

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