Hundreds of Hezbollah members reportedly injured by exploding pagers
- In Reports
- 09:37 PM, Sep 17, 2024
- Myind Staff
More than 1,000 people, including members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have been seriously injured after pagers they use for communication exploded, according to security sources. According to AFP citing sources, one girl was killed in Lebanon by one of the exploding pagers. A Hezbollah official also said a few Hezbollah fighters were also wounded in Syria when the pagers they were carrying exploded.
A Hezbollah official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, described the pager explosions as the "biggest security breach" the group had faced during nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
Sources informed the Guardian that they believe the attack was a response to an alleged assassination attempt by Hezbollah on a former high-ranking Israeli defence official, which was disclosed on Tuesday by the Israeli Shin Bet security agency.
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was one of the injured in the explosions, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
Lebanon’s Minister of Health, Firas Abiad, stated that while it is too early for a precise count, the number of injured is in the "hundreds," and there have been some fatalities as a result of the explosions.
A witness told ABC News that they saw one of the pagers explode on a man riding a motorcycle in Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
Other witnesses reported seeing ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of Beirut amid widespread panic.
The attack marks the third instance that Beirut has been targeted since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah began on 8 October, following Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel in support of Hamas's assault that ignited the current Gaza war.
Ambulances congested the streets of Beirut, Tyre, and villages across the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon, transporting the wounded to hospitals. Local media circulated images of the injured with scorched hips and mangled hands.
Lebanon’s health ministry has urged all healthcare workers to report to their stations and placed hospitals across the country on “maximum alert.” The ministry also advised citizens to stay away from wireless communication devices.
Hezbollah operates its own separate communication network, and there have been suspicions since October that Israel may have breached the group's telecommunications. This concern has been heightened by the targeted assassinations of several Hezbollah commanders.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Regional news outlets have aired CCTV footage showing what seems to be a small handheld device spontaneously exploding after being placed next to a grocery store cashier during a transaction.
In another clip, an explosion appears to have struck someone standing at a fruit stand in a market area.
The incident in Lebanon coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding a series of high-level security consultations with the heads of the security forces, as reported by Israeli media. This comes amid escalating tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The high-level security consultations were convened a few hours after Israel's security cabinet, during an overnight meeting on Tuesday, decided to broaden its war objectives. This includes facilitating the return of tens of thousands of Israelis who were evacuated from towns along the northern border, which have been severely damaged by rockets fired by Hezbollah. Concern has mounted in recent weeks that Netanyahu will order a full-scale military operation in southern Lebanon.
"The security cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include the following: Returning the residents of the north securely to their homes," the prime minister's office said. "Israel will continue to act to implement this objective.”
On Monday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said the only way to return Israel's northern residents was through "military action", during a meeting with US envoy Amos Hochstein.
“The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas, and refuses to end the conflict,” a statement from his office said.
On Tuesday, Israel’s internal security agency announced that it had thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior Israeli security official. The operation was reportedly planned to take place in the coming days.
The Shin Bet said in a statement that it had found an explosive “device fitted with a camera and a mechanism that would allow it to be activated by Hezbollah from Lebanon,”, although it did not provide evidence linking the device to the Lebanese group.
Israel has repeatedly warned of a potential military operation to push Hezbollah away from the border. Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on 7 October, there have been near-daily exchanges of fire across the frontier. Hezbollah has stated that its actions are in support of Hamas. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran and are designated as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK, and other countries.
Since October, at least 589 people have been killed, the majority of whom are Hezbollah fighters, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
On the Israeli side, 25 civilians and 21 members of security forces have been killed, the Israeli government says.
Image source: Reuters
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