8 Killed, 2,750 Injured After Pager Blasts Across Lebanon, Beirut Blames Israel Behind Explosions

Eight people were killed and 2,750 were hurt when the handheld pagers they used to talk to each other exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday. Those hurt included fighters from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and medics. Firass Abiad, the health minister, said that 200 people who were hurt in the blast are in critical condition. Reuters reported that a Hezbollah official said the pagers going off was the “biggest security breach” the group had seen in almost a year of war with Israel.

According to Reuters, the Lebanese government is holding Israel responsible for the pager explosions. The nation’s information minister has also denounced “Israeli acts of aggression.”

While Hezbollah initially refrained from stating that Israel was responsible for the explosions, they have since declared the Israeli army solely accountable for this heinous act of aggression. As reported by news agency AFP, a statement released by Hezbollah also asserts that Israel will face appropriate consequences for their unjust actions.

According to Al Jazeera, a recent explosion involving the simultaneous detonation of pagers resulted in the deaths of three individuals, including two members of Hezbollah and a ten-year-old girl.

“A 10-year-old girl was martyred in the Bekaa Valley after her father’s pager exploded while he was next to her,” AFP reported, citing her relatives.

According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, was also injured in the explosions. However, he is currently conscious and not in any danger.

The pagers that detonated were the most recent model acquired by Hezbollah in recent months. The blasts continued for about an hour after their initial occurrence at 3:45 p.m. local time (1345 GMT), but it is still uncertain how they were set off.

Hezbollah is claiming that Israel hacked into their pagers in Lebanon and detonated them at the same time causing hundreds of their fighters to be injured.

How can you hack into a pager and make it explode?

Is that even possible? pic.twitter.com/On8EZWh3Ox

— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) September 17, 2024

Since the onset of the Gaza conflict last year, Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been involved in cross-border warfare during a particularly severe escalation.

According to a Reuters report, ambulances were quickly making their way through the southern suburbs of Beirut – an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold – as panic spread. Numerous injured individuals were also observed hurrying towards the emergency room, their hands covered in blood and cries of agony filling the air. Additionally, according to a security source, there were also explosions in the south of Lebanon.

Hezbollah is claiming that Israel hacked into their pagers in Lebanon and detonated them at the same time causing hundreds of their fighters to be injured.

How can you hack into a pager and make it explode?

Is that even possible? pic.twitter.com/On8EZWh3Ox

— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) September 17, 2024

Hassan Wazni, the director of a public hospital in Nabatieh, located in southern Lebanon, told that approximately 40 individuals with wounds to their eyes, face, and limbs are currently receiving treatment at the facility.

There were multiple explosions from wireless communication devices in various locations across Lebanon, resulting in injuries. The Lebanese internal security forces specifically mentioned the southern suburbs of Beirut as a heavily affected area.

Footage of the explosions has been posted on various social media platforms. According to a surveillance video, a small handheld device detonated unexpectedly next to a grocery store register while a customer was in the process of paying.

In additional surveillance footage, an individual was rendered unconscious by an explosion. The person was positioned at a fruit stand within a market vicinity at the time of the occurrence.

The health ministry in Lebanon runs the crisis operations centre, which told all the medics to go to their own hospitals and help them deal with the huge number of injured people who needed immediate care. Reuters said that they were told not to use pagers.

The Lebanese Red Cross said that after the incident, more than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical staff were sent to help get the victims to safety.

After the gun attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7 that started the Gaza war, Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel right away. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have been firing at each other all the time, but a major escalation has not happened.