Nine Hezbollah fighters dead; 2,750 injured as ‘Israel explodes’ their communication devices

At least nine fighters and medics linked with the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah died and2,750 others were injured on Tuesday (Sep 17) as the pagers that they used to communicate exploded suddenly.

The Lebanese health ministry said more than 200 people were critically injuredin the attack for which Hezbollah held Israel "fully responsible."

"We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression," the group said in a statement, adding that Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression".

News agency Reuters said, citinga Hezbollah source, that this was one of the biggest ‘security breaches’ the group has faced since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Hezbollah in a statement said the group wasstill conducting a "wide-ranging security and scientific investigation to determine" the cause of the blasts.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was not hurt in the explosions, the group said.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon also injured in explosion

Iranian state media IRNA reported thatIran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured in the explosions.Amani has a superficial injury and is currently under observation in the hospital, IRNA reported.

National News Agency (NNA) reported that hundreds of injured people were rushed to hospitals through the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut after pagers exploded “through the use of high technology.”

Media reports say that Hezbollah’s communications devices were compromised, which led to the blasts.

#BREAKING | Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded after their communication devices exploded mysteriously in Lebanon; official claims 'security breach' pic.twitter.com/WQLUyp2sAp — WION (@WIONews) September 17, 2024

There were reports indicating similar blasts also occurred in southern Lebanon and Syria. Reuters reported that blasts were taking place even after 30 minutes of the initial explosion.

Al-Hadath news agency quoted a senior Lebanese security source as saying that Israel had infiltrated the communication system of individual devices and detonated them remotely.

Jerusalem Post reported that the pagers were called before the explosion so that maximum wounds could be inflicted upon the person operating the communication device.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government has now asked its citizens, who own a pager, to immediately discard them. The country's hospitals have also been put on high alert and off-duty doctors have been called in.

Hezbollah conducting investigation

Hezbollah issued a statement saying, “At approximately 3:30 pm on Tuesday, 09-17-2024, a number of message receiving devices known as “pagers” exploded, which were owned by a number of workers in various Hezbollah units and institutions,” the group said.

“These explosions, the causes of which are still unknown, also led to the martyrdom of a girl and two brothers, and the injury of a large number of people with various injuries,” it added.

“Hezbollah’s competent agencies are currently conducting a wide-ranging security and scientific investigation to determine the causes that led to these simultaneous explosions. Likewise, medical and health agencies are treating the wounded and injured in a number of hospitals in various Lebanese regions,” Hezbollah continued.

“We affirm that the resistance, at all its levels and various units, is at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its steadfast people.”

'Very sophisticated attack, requires collaboration of more than one entity'

Meanwhile, on the near-simultaneous pager explosions in Lebanon,Al Jazeera quoted amilitary analyst, Elijah Magnier, as saying, "This is a very sophisticated attack, and normally at this scale, it requires the collaboration of more than one entity."

If Israeli intelligence managed to compromise the pagers supplied to Hezbollah, then they might have managed to access the supply from Iran because Iran supplies Hezbollah with most of its equipment, Magnier added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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