Serial Blasts in Hezbollah Pagers: There have been serial blasts in the pagers (communication devices) of Hezbollah members in Lebanon. According to media reports, 19 people including a child have died in the blast. More than 3000 have been injured, out of which 200 are in critical condition.
According to media reports, the pagers have been hacked and blasted. It is being claimed that Israel is behind this hacking. However, Israel has not given any reaction.
Table of Contents
According to Arab media reports, more than a thousand members of Hezbollah have been targeted. The report also said that the Hezbollah chief in Syria has also been targeted. According to Lebanon’s website Naharnet, Iran’s ambassador Mojtaba Amani has been injured in a pager explosion, but his injuries are not serious.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad has confirmed that hundreds of people have been injured in incidents across the country. The Health Ministry has asked all hospitals to remain on high alert. Health workers have been asked to immediately go to their hospitals for help.
What is a pager
A pager is a wireless device used to send and receive messages. It usually comes with a small screen and a limited keypad. With its help, messages, alerts, or calls can be received quickly.
Pagers exploded at the same time: Hezbollah
Along with this, Hezbollah has claimed that all the pagers exploded at almost the same time. According to security sources, the pagers that exploded were of the latest model.
Health Minister Firas Abiad confirmed the incident and said that hundreds of people were injured in incidents across the country.
How did pagers explode one after another in Lebanon?
There are two theories about how the pager exploded.
1. Hacking: According to American media house CNN, it is possible that the pagers were hacked and the lithium batteries in them were overheated and detonated. However, this possibility is almost negligible. According to America’s National Security Analyst David Kennedy, the kind of explosions that have happened cannot be caused by hacking the device and overheating the battery.
2. Supply Chain Attack: One speculation is that explosives may have been planted in the pagers either during supply or during manufacturing, which would detonate only when a specific message is received.
Experts are increasingly suspecting this. American analysts John Hultquist and David Kennedy both believe that this may have happened. Pagers were recently supplied to Hezbollah.
A former British military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pagers might have been fitted with 10 to 20 grams of high-grade military explosives.
Many ambulances were seen running in Beirut
Several ambulances were seen rushing to hospitals in southern Beirut following the blasts. One source said that “hundreds of Hezbollah members were injured by explosions in their pagers” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s stronghold in south Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Meanwhile, an AFP correspondent said that dozens of ambulances were seen running in both directions between the cities of Tyre and Sidon.
Hospitals asked to remain on high alert
The Health Ministry said in a statement that all hospitals in the areas around the places where there are injured have been asked to remain on high alert and increase their level of preparedness. He also said that all health workers have been asked to immediately go to their workplaces for assistance.
The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement on X that it was on “high alert”.
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel
The Israeli army has refused to comment on these blasts. Iran’s Mehr news agency said that Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was also injured.
This incident is the first of its kind. The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, after which the Gaza war started. Since then, Hezbollah has carried out several attacks against Israel in support of Hamas.
What is Hezbollah Organization?
The word Hezbollah means Party of God. This organization describes itself as a Shia Islamic political, military and social organization. Hezbollah is a powerful group of Lebanon. America and many countries have declared it a terrorist organization.
It was created with the help of Iran during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s. It slowly started taking roots during the return of Islam to Lebanon in the 1960s-70s.
Although Hamas is a Sunni Palestinian organization, Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is a Shia Lebanese party. But both organizations remain united on the issue of Israel. Between 2020 and 2023, both factions opposed the agreement between the UAE and Bahrain with Israel.
In August, Israel attacked with more than 100 fighter jets
On the morning of August 25, Israel attacked Hezbollah’s rocket launching sites in southern Lebanon with 100 fighter jets. The fighter jets targeted more than 40 places.
Israel had claimed that Hezbollah was preparing to attack Israel. Therefore, it carried out this strike to thwart the attack.
In retaliation to the Israeli attack, Hezbollah attacked Israel with 320 rockets. According to Qatar’s media house Al Jazeera, Hezbollah fired missiles and drones at 11 Israeli military bases.
Also Read:
