Following pager explosives that leave thousands injured and nine dead in Lebanon, Hezbollah accuses Israel.
The health minister of Lebanon reports that nine people, including a toddler, have died as a result of the country's handheld pagers, which were used by Hezbollah members as a means of communication, exploding all over the place.
Among the 2,800 people injured by the coordinated explosions in Beirut and numerous other areas was Iran's ambassador to Lebanon.
Iran-backed Hezbollah verified the passing of eight fighters and declared the pagers belonged "to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions." The organization promised to exact "just vengeance" on Israel for what it described as "this heinous aggression." The Israeli military remained silent.
A few hours prior to the blasts, the Israeli security cabinet declared that one of the official war objectives was to halt Hezbollah's operations in the country's north so that displaced citizens could return safely.
Since the day following the beginning of Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza on October 7, there have been nearly daily gunfire exchanges over the Israel-Lebanon border.
Hezbollah has declared its support for the Palestinian organization funded by Iran.
Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it would continue its "operations in support of Gaza" and described this as a "continuous path apart from the heavy cost that awaits the enemy after responding to its massacre on Tuesday." This was the group's most recent statement.
Israel, the UK, and other nations have designated Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations. The most recent events in Lebanon are "very worrying particularly considering that this is taking place within an environment that is highly volatile," according to a UN spokeswoman.
On Tuesday night, a lot of people in Lebanon were in a state of shock and disbelief, unable to comprehend the scope and nature of an incident that had never been seen before.
Hezbollah claimed that at around 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT), a large number of pagers—which the party mainly depends on for contacts because mobile phones can be hijacked or tracked—exploded in the capital Beirut and several other locations.
In one CCTV clip, an explosion was seen in a man's grocery store pocket or bag. As other consumers flee for their lives, he is then seen sliding backwards to the ground and sobbing in agony.
After many hours, the sheer number of casualties—200 of them, according to the health minister, were in severe condition—still had ambulances racing to hospitals. Family members were waiting outdoors, hoping for news. The main entrance of the LAU Medical Centre, located in the Ashrafieh suburb of Beirut, was closed, and entry was restricted.
A staff member told the BBC that "some moments are terrible and it's very sensitive." He stated that the majority of the injuries were to the hands, face, waist, and eyes. "Many casualties have lost fingers, or even all of them," he continued.
Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador, was "slightly damaged" by one of the detonations, according to his wife, and he was " recovering well" in the hospital. The news of eight fighters' fatalities was released by Hezbollah's propaganda office. It just stated that they were "executed on the road to Jerusalem," providing no information about the places or events.
The AFP news agency was informed by a source close to the party that among the dead were the 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah part in the Bekaa Valley and the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar. The source then claimed that Hassan Fadlallah, the son of another legislator, had been injured after first claiming to be dead.
In accordance to the UK-based Syrian Center for the Protection of Human Rights, fourteen more persons were injured by detonating pagers in neighboring Syria, where Hezbollah is battling alongside government forces in the nation's civil conflict.
"We fully hold the Israeli enemy accountable for this criminal aggression," a statement released by Hezbollah stated on Tuesday night. "This deceitful and unlawful adversary will undoubtedly receive his rightful punishment for this wicked assault, both in areas where it matters and doesn't," it continued.
Israel was also held accountable for the explosions, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who described them as a "serious infringing on Lebanese sovereignty and an offense by all terms."
Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, stated that he "completely denounced Israeli terrorism" to his counterpart in Lebanon.
The nearest ally of Israel, the US, denied any involvement and pleaded with Iran not to escalate tensions.
Hezbollah remained silent on what it thought was the reason for the pager explosions. The impacted gadgets came from a fresh shipment that Hezbollah had received recently, according to a source that was quoted by The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper was reportedly told by a Hezbollah official that some persons had noticed the pagers heating up prior to the explosions.
Although experts noted that hacking into the pagers and causing them to overheat would not typically produce such explosions, overheated lithium-ion batteries can catch fire. The media was informed by an anonymous former British Army munitions specialist that the pagers were probably loaded with 10–20 grams of military-grade high explosive concealed within a phony electronic component.
According to the expert, the bomb would have been set off by the subsequent user once it was armed by a signal—an alphanumeric text message. "Israel has been participating in cyber attacks against Hezbollah for a few months now, but this attack on security is the biggest in scale," spoke to the media Lina Khatib, a Middle East specialist at the UK-based Chatham House think tank.
"Israel in a single motion made combat useless many hundreds if not thousands, of Hezbollah fighters, in some cases eternally," stated Nicholas Blanford, a senior fellow at the American research organization the Atlantic Council with headquarters in Beirut.
He called it "the most hazardous stage" in the Hezbollah-Israel battle until October and issued a warning, saying that the organization's commanders would now "face tremendous pressure from the ranks and sympathizers to retaliate strongly."
The Israeli military released a statement on Tuesday night that stated that officers had conducted an operational evaluation with Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, "focusing on readiness in both offence and defense in all arenas," but it made no mention of the pager blasts. Additionally, it informed the Israeli public that defense guidelines remained unchanged and urged them to maintain their vigilance.
Three "Hezbollah terrorists operating within a terrorist infrastructure site" were slain by a strike early in the day in the Blida area, which is close to Lebanon's border with Israel, according to the military.
Hezbollah's propaganda office said it had launched missile and drone attacks against Israeli troops and military installations, while the health ministry of Lebanon reported that three people had died in an Israeli strike.
The Hezbollah bombing attempt against an unidentified former top Israeli security official was thwarted, according to Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency. Hezbollah remained silent in response to the charge. This coincides with the government of Israel promising to intensify military operations against Hezbollah.
The safe return of 60,000 people who were uprooted from their homes in the north by Hezbollah attacks was declared an official objective of the Gaza war by Israel's security council on Tuesday morning.
In a Monday meeting with US envoy Amos Hochstein, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that "military action" was the sole means of bringing back inhabitants of the north. According to a statement from his office, "the window of opportunity for a contract is closing as Hezbollah keeps trying to 'tie itself' to Hamas, and fails to resolve the war."
The Lebanese health ministry reports that at least 589 individuals have died in Lebanon since the hostilities began in October, with Hezbollah members accounting for the great majority of these deaths. According to the Israeli government, there have been 21 security force fatalities and 25 civilian deaths.
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