At least 12 people were killed and 2,931 people were injured in Lebanon on Tuesday during the mass explosion of pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah, according to the country’s health ministry.
A Hezbollah official described the event as the “biggest security breach” the group has suffered since the start of the Israel-Gaza war nearly one year ago, according to a Reuters report. The Shiite terror group claimed that lithium batteries inside the pagers apparently detonated.
Some members allegedly felt the pagers “heating up” before abandoning them, according to an unnamed Hezbollah official speaking to the Wall Street Journal. Hezbollah officials have speculated that Israeli malware could be behind the infiltration.
Sky News Arabia, however, quoted sources insisting that Mossad, Israel’s primary intelligence agency, physically planted explosive materials inside the pagers before they were delivered to Lebanon.
According to the Times of Israel, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah turned to pagers after he directed members to stop using cell phones in February, fearing they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence. A Lebanese security source claimed the devices were imported five months ago, according to Al Jazeera.
Seven individuals were similarly killed in Syria around Damascus, according to Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Saberin News. This signals a coordinated effort to reach the group in multiple locations across different countries.
Lebanese residents claimed explosions were still detonating 30 minutes after the first wave while some were even detonating in the south of the country, far from Beirut.
Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath reported that around 500 Hezbollah operatives lost their eyesight across Lebanon and Syria as a result of the blasts.
The Iranian state-owned Mehr News Agency reported that Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, was injured in the attack. Tehran’s embassy in Lebanon claimed the official is in “good general condition,” via Alhadath.
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attack. The Israeli military declined to comment.
The pagers attack in Lebanon; where huge numbers of Hezbollah fighters have been injured when their pagers exploded after receiving a message is among the craziest things I have seen in this new generation of warfare.
Reportedly, the Israeli intelligence send a message to the… pic.twitter.com/Hgt0eYauY5
— ScharoMaroof (@ScharoMaroof) September 17, 2024
The IDF’s Home Front Command warned Israeli citizens that an “escalation” remains possible but offered no further instructions.
The spontaneous explosions came just hours after Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, claimed it disrupted an assassination attempt on a former senior Israeli defense official.
Israel has been bracing for an Iranian/Hezbollah response to the killing of both senior Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr and chairman of Hamas’ political bureau Ismail Haniya in Tehran late in July.
Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel immediately following Hamas’ October 7 assault on the Jewish state last year.