In a shocking and unprecedented event, thousands of handheld pagers being used by Hezbollah Islamic terrorists exploded simultaneously across Lebanon and parts of Syria on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in at least nine deaths and injuring over 2,750 people.
The incident, which almost exclusively affected members of the Hezbollah terror group, sent shockwaves through the region and raised questions about the nature of this sophisticated attack.
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad reported that among the wounded, at least 200 were in critical condition. The explosions occurred around 3:30 pm local time, with pagers detonating in the pockets and hands of their carriers.
The affected areas included southern Beirut suburbs, the Beqaa region in eastern Lebanon, and Damascus, Syria – all areas with a strong Hezbollah presence.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the incident as the “biggest security breach” the group had experienced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians,” and claimed, “Israel will for sure get its just punishment.”
The pagers in question were reportedly part of a new shipment recently acquired by Hezbollah. The group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had previously warned members against using cell phones, citing concerns about Israeli tracking capabilities.
This shift to pagers created a much larger vulnerability — and left thousands of terrorists with serious wounds throughout the country in what appears to be a coordinated attack.
Experts have speculated on the possible methods behind the attack.
“A lithium ion battery fire is one thing, but I’ve never seen one explode like that. It looks like a small explosive charge,” Alex Plitsas, a weapons expert at the Atlantic Council, said.
The early theory is that the pagers were tampered with before delivery to Hezbollah.
Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, suggested it was planned.
“It is not some random action; it was deliberate and known” and an electronic pulse “that was sent from afar and burnt the devices and caused their explosion.”
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, is among those injured by the exploding Hezbollah devices. The Lebanese Red Cross reported deploying more than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical staff to assist in evacuating victims.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the incident, and the Israeli military has simply declined to respond.
The sophistication and scale of the attack have led many to suspect Israeli involvement, given the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
This event occurs against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the region. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since October 2023, following Hamas’s unprovoked massacre of Israeli citizens that triggered the Gaza war.
IMPORTANT 🚨
This is a developing story, and all information is preliminary, with numbers and info subject to change.
Roughly an hour ago, Hezbollah’s encrypted pager devices began simultaneously, exploding across Lebanon, including in Damascus.
Initial reports from Lebanon… pic.twitter.com/pWpDePcFUv
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 17, 2024