Lebanon and Hamas Point Israel as the Behind-the-Scenes Actor
Hundreds of wireless pagers primarily used by the armed group Hezbollah across Lebanon simultaneously exploded, killing at least 9 people and injuring 2,750, according to foreign media including the Associated Press (AP).
On the 17th (local time), according to AP and others, the explosions occurred throughout Lebanon, centered on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut. According to Lebanese health authorities, 9 people died and 2,750 were injured in the incident. Among the injured, 200 are in critical condition.
The explosions continued for about an hour starting around 3:30 PM that day. Since some explosions occurred while victims were checking their screens after receiving calls, most of the injuries were to the hands, with some also sustaining abdominal injuries.
In Damascus, the capital of Syria bordering Israel and Lebanon, pagers also exploded, injuring 14 people including Hezbollah members, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Moztaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, was also injured but his life is not in danger, Iranian media reported.
Hezbollah pointed to Israel as responsible for the explosion incident and vowed retaliation. In a statement that day, Hezbollah said, "We hold Israel fully responsible" and "They will surely face just punishment." Hamas strongly condemned the "terrorist attack by Zionists (Jewish nationalists) targeting Lebanese citizens."
Iran, which supports Hezbollah and Hamas, also labeled the explosion incident as a "terrorist act" that day. After a cabinet meeting, the Lebanese government stated, "We unanimously condemn Israel's criminal attack blatantly violating Lebanon's sovereignty."
Giad Makari, Lebanon's Minister of Information, said they are contacting the United Nations to hold Israel accountable.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health requested all citizens to immediately dispose of their pagers.
Hezbollah recently introduced pagers for communication security. This followed Hezbollah's top leader Hassan Nasrallah's February warning not to use mobile phones as they could be used for location tracking and targeted attacks. The pagers that exploded that day reportedly had stickers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. These pagers are communication devices that were once called 'bippi' domestically, used to send and receive beeps or short messages.
The digital rights organization 'SMEX' in the West Asia and North Africa region suspects that the Israeli side may have tampered with the devices or planted explosives.
However, Israel has not issued any specific statements regarding the explosions.
The explosion incident occurred less than a day after Israel's security cabinet officially added the safe return of residents in northern Israel near the Lebanon border as a war objective.
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