In an unprecedented development, Israel sabotaged the pager network used by Hezbollah members, detonating the devices’ batteries, simultaneously injuring over a thousand, including the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Three were also killed in the technological attack, including the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar, a Hezbollah member and a 10-year-old girl.
According to the Kuwaiti Al Jarida newspaper, three bodyguards of Hezbollah’s Secretary General have reportedly been wounded in the explosion of their pagers.
The pagers, carried by Hezbollah operatives to communicate with each other, exploded simultaneously in Beirut’s southern suburb, the Bekaa, Baalbeck and southern Lebanon.
According to the latest toll, some 1200 people, all believed to be Hezbollah members, suffered serious injuries and were rushed to hospitals.
Hezbollah operatives in Syria are believed to have also been targeted in the Israeli technological attack. The London-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) said at least four have been wounded in Sayyida Zaynab area near Damascus.
A physician at the American University Hospital Medical Center (AUBMC) said the emergency room is packed with hundreds, mostly suffering from injuries to their eyes.
“We are overwhelmed, there are some 500 wounded, mostly in the eyes, and more wounded are arriving in the emergency room,” the physician, an ophthalmologist, told This is Beirut on condition of anonymity.
Hospitals requested urgent blood donations, while the order of physicians called on physicians to report to their hospitals.
The Internal Security Forces issued a statement saying that “certain types of wireless communication devices in several Lebanese areas, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut, were targeted with explosions, resulting in injuries.”
Both the Lebanese army and the ISF requested that citizens clear the roads to facilitate the evacuation of the injured and their transportation to hospitals.
The army command requested that citizens avoid gathering in areas witnessing security incidents, in order to allow medical teams to reach the casualties.
According to Hadath, Israel used cutting-edge technology to remotely detonate the batteries in these devices, used by Hezbollah instead of cell phones, to reduce the risk of being detected by Israeli surveillance technology.
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The Moment a #Hezbollah Member’s Pager Explodes
Surveillance cameras captured the moment when the communication devices possessed by party members exploded. pic.twitter.com/rYwZ9nOJju
— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) September 17, 2024
