9 killed, over 2,000 injured as Hezbollah pagers explode across Lebanon
Though the Israeli military has not said any word about the detonations, its hand is being suspected in the unique cyberattack
At least nine people were killed and over 2,800 injured after thousands of pagers used by members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah to communicate exploded in a synchronised manner on Tuesday (September 17).
The state media of Iran has said that Mojtaba Amani, its ambassador to Lebanon, has also been injured in the incident.
The dead included a 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member in Bekaa Valley, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a televised press conference. He said the injuries were mostly on the face, hands and stomach.
AFP reported that the sons of Hezbollah lawmakers Ali Ammar and Hassan Fadlallah were also killed in the explosions.
A Hezbollah official told news agency Reuters that the pager blasts were the “biggest security breach” the group had faced in nearly a year of war with Israel. Though the Israeli military has not said any word about the detonations, its hand is being suspected in the unique attack.
Pagers explode across country
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza war erupted last October.
The hundreds of Hezbollah members who were injured included both fighters and medics.
People in Lebanon’s capital Beirut told Reuters that explosions were taking place even half an hour after the initial blasts and that pagers were exploding even in the south of Lebanon.
SOS to medical workers
One of the video footages being shared online shows a small device next to the cashier in grocery store exploding suddenly. Another footage shows a person being knocked out by a similar explosion at a fruit stand in a seemingly market area.
Lebanon’s government-run crisis operations centre asked all medical workers to head to their respective hospitals as massive numbers of wounded streamed in for urgent care. It also warned health care workers against using pagers.
Ongoing war
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire constantly since October last year even though a major escalation has been averted so far. Hezbollah started firing missiles at Israel from the north immediately after the October 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen on Israel.
Hundreds have been killed in the ongoing war in Gaza while tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border by the hostilities.
