Beirut, September 17, 2024-Hundreds of individuals, including numerous Hezbollah members, were seriously injured across Lebanon when handheld pagers, used for communication, exploded.
Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that the blasts on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of two of its fighters and a young girl. The group has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the explosions.
A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously, described the incident as the “biggest security breach” the organization has faced during nearly a year of ongoing cross-border skirmishes with Israel. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also among those injured, according to reports by Iran’s Mehr news agency.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had previously instructed his fighters to cease using smartphones due to concerns about Israeli infiltration. Elijah Magnier, a military and political analyst, explained that Hezbollah depends on pagers to avoid interception by Israel. He speculated that the pagers may have been tampered with before being distributed, suggesting external involvement in remotely triggering the explosions.
“These explosions are significant enough to impact Hezbollah’s psychological stance,” Magnier added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel expanded its official war objectives to include the return of Israelis who had fled areas near the Lebanese border. This marked an escalation of its yearlong military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, now widening to focus on Hezbollah. The ongoing exchanges between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the war’s updated goals included securing the safe return of residents in the north. The cross-border clashes have resulted in hundreds of casualties in Lebanon, primarily Hezbollah fighters, while dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers have also been killed.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant emphasized that “military action” was the “only option” left to ensure the safe return of northern Israeli communities. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Israeli positions on both Monday and Tuesday.
