On September 17, pagers of members of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah began exploding.
The pagers of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah simultaneously began to explode. Footage from surveillance cameras shows multiple explosions in one of the videos, one explosion occurred in the pocket of a person who was in a shopping center. Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said the explosions killed eight people and injured nearly 2,750, 200 of whom were in critical condition. According to Reuters, among the wounded were Hezbollah fighters and doctors, as well as the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. According to Iranian television, his life is not in danger and his injuries are minor.
Pagers in 2024
Hezbollah relies heavily on pagers for communication between the various branches of the organization. The group decided to abandon mobile phones as too vulnerable, as demonstrated in 1996 by the Israeli secret services killing of Hamas chief engineer Yahya Ayyash with a bomb planted in a mobile phone.
At a time when Hezbollah and Israel are in a state of low intensity war, this attack will weaken Hezbollah’s human resources, communications and, indeed, morale.
The pagers, Reuters wrote, are a new model the group began using them only a few months ago. A Hezbollah official suggested the devices were infected with a virus that could cause them to overheat and explode.
Will there be an answer?
In its official statement, Hezbollah said it was investigating the cause of the explosions and held Israel responsible. Israeli authorities have not yet commented on the information about the pager explosions.
However, these events take place just hours after a meeting of the Israeli government, where the military was tasked with ensuring the safe return of approximately 60 thousand Israelis to the northern region of the country.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a military operation to expel Hezbollah from Lebanese borders and stop the group’s continued disintegration.
Since October 7, when the Hamas group attacked Israel and the Israeli army launched an operation in the Gaza Strip, there has been an almost daily exchange of fire with Hezbollah on the Lebanese border.
Both Hezbollah and Hamas rely on Iranian support; Israel and Western countries consider both groups terrorists.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.