Israel Suspected of Attacking Hezbollah Commanders with Explosive Pagers

A series of pagers belonging to Hezbollah exploded, killing nine people and injuring 2,750, with Israel suspected of being behind the attack.

Video footage from the scene showed Hezbollah members suffering injuries to their bodies and faces when the pagers they used to communicate exploded. The pagers appeared to be booby-trapped en masse.

About 200 people are in critical condition, and Hezbollah described it as the biggest security breach against them since the conflict broke out in Gaza between Israel and Hezbollah’s ally Hamas.

Hezbollah, Iran, and Lebanon Blame Israel for the Attack

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured in the attack. Lebanon’s prime minister and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the attack, with Hezbollah vowing revenge. Iran, which backs Hezbollah, has also condemned the attack, referring to “Israeli terrorism.”

The US has urged Iran to refrain from responding to the attack. CNN reported that the explosion of Hezbollah members’ pagers was the result of a joint operation between the military and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

Explosives Hidden in Pagers

The explosive pagers were taken from a new shipment Hezbollah received in the past few days. A Hezbollah official said hundreds of fighters had the devices. The coordinated attack took place at 3:30 p.m. local time on September 17.

According to reports, the pager beeped for several seconds before it exploded. The New York Times quoted a U.S. official as saying that the communications equipment received a message that appeared to come from Hezbollah leadership. The explosives were hidden in Taiwanese-made (Chinese) pagers and shipped to Lebanon.

About 3 grams of explosive material was hidden in each pager, along with a battery and a remote-detonation switch. 3,000 pagers exploded when a message was sent. Hezbollah ordered about 3,000 AP924 pagers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, and many of them were tampered with before Hezbollah received them.

Hezbollah instructed members to stay away from mobile phones after the Gaza conflict began and instead rely on pagers to prevent Israel from intercepting communications.

Escalating Tensions Between Israel and Hezbollah

The incident came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel was expanding its goals in the current conflict, including returning thousands of citizens home near the border with Lebanon who have been forced to evacuate because of continued rocket attacks.

Fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah – which controls southern Lebanon – have increased after Israel warned the US earlier this week that the chances of a diplomatic resolution to the conflict on its northern border were fading.

It was unclear whether the pager attack, for which Hezbollah said Israel was “fully responsible,” was designed to weaken the militant group ahead of a possible attack or was simply a show of force by Netanyahu as he struggles to appease hawks at home.