Folks, it was like something out of a spy novel.
Significant small explosions shook Lebanon when pagers used by Hezbollah members suddenly detonated, resulting in widespread chaos and devastation. Nine people have been killed, and there are claims that over 2,750 others have been wounded—many of them Hezbollah members. The explosions began around 3:45 pm local time and lasted roughly an hour, with the impact felt in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.
There are also reports that Iran’s ambassador was also hurt.
Images from the scenes, shared on social media and broadcast on Lebanese and Israeli networks, give us an idea of what happened.
Viewer Discretion is advised:
BREAKING via Reuters
Hundreds of members of Hezbollah were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded.
Here is one video of one of the pager explosions. pic.twitter.com/UDepHvkkEe
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 17, 2024
🚨 Breaking: Tens of Hezbollah communication devices are exploding during the past hour. Initial reports state that over one hundred Hezbollah terrorists already injured.
Here's footage from two such explosion 👇 pic.twitter.com/rMwdRWsTGB
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) September 17, 2024
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the incident, calling it a “criminal aggression” and vowing retaliation. In a statement, the militant group declared, “We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” and warned that Israel would “certainly be punished” for the attack. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati echoed these sentiments, condemning the event as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. The Lebanese government has reached out to the United Nations to address the incident, which they claim amounts to “Israeli aggression.”
Paging Hezbollah… Oh, wait. 🎇🇮🇱💪💣
The reports are absolutely crazy.
Israel managed to detonate hundreds of communication devices of Hezbollah terrorists all at the same time and across all of Lebanon.
Reports of many of them eliminated and many others severely injured.… pic.twitter.com/OVVv9dx7ZZ
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) September 17, 2024
The cause of the explosions, however, remains unclear. Some reports suggest that Israeli forces may have hacked the pagers and remotely triggered the blasts. Others, including anonymous officials, have speculated that the detonations were due to faulty lithium batteries, which can overheat and ignite. Yet, Edward Snowden offered a different perspective, asserting that the incident was likely caused by implanted explosives rather than a hack, due to the severe nature of the injuries.
