Massive attack in Lebanon leaves several dead and thousands wounded among Hezbollah ranks when its fighters are blown up
An unprecedented massive and coordinated attack has left at least nine dead and nearly 3,000 wounded, the vast majority of them members of Hezbollah, in several areas of Lebanon and Syria when hundreds of paging devices linked to the Iranian-backed Shiite militia exploded.
The attack, which Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed on Israel, is the biggest security breach the Lebanese militia has suffered since it began its war against the Jewish state nearly a year ago. Shortly after the Hamas attack on 7 October, Hezbollah also joined the offensive, firing shells into northern Israel on a near-daily basis.
The pro-Iranian militia has confirmed that many members of its military units and institutions are among the victims of the attack, vowing to continue fighting Israel along the border in retaliation.
Hezbollah said in a statement that ‘the treacherous and criminal enemy will receive its just punishment for this aggression’, according to Lebanese media. The Shiite militia also praised its ‘martyrs and wounded’ as ‘symbols of jihad and sacrifices on the road to Jerusalem’.
Lebanese political authorities have condemned the attack as an ‘Israeli criminal’ act and ‘a significant violation of Lebanese security and sovereignty’. The speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, has even called the targeted attack on Hezbollah ‘a war crime’.
Although the operation targeted only Hezbollah members, the attacks injured several civilians and killed a 10-year-old girl after her Hezbollah member father's pager exploded near her.
Among the wounded is also the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, highlighting once again the deep ties between Tehran and Hezbollah. According to Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, it is further proof that ‘the Islamic Republic arms and finances its allies, using them to sow chaos in the region’. ‘The mere fact that an ambassador carries the Hezbollah device speaks volumes about the regime's priorities and terrorist affiliations,’ Alinejad writes on social media.
Sources within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have confirmed that the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani lost his Right Eye and received Significant Trauma to his Left Eye as a result of today’s Pager Attack against Hezbollah Members in Lebanon and Syria. pic.twitter.com/rJg0HEaFuf
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 18, 2024
According to the New York Times, Israel executed this operation against Hezbollah by concealing explosive material inside a new batch of Taiwanese-made pagers that were imported into Lebanon.
The US newspaper, relying on US and other officials who were briefed on the operation, explains that the pagers - also known as pagers or beepers - that the Lebanese militia had ordered from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo had been tampered with before arriving in Lebanon. Most were of the company's AP924 model, although three other Gold Apollo models were also included in the shipment.
Two of the officials confirmed to the newspaper that the explosive material, weighing as little as 28 or 56 grams, was implanted next to the battery of each pager. Also embedded was a switch that could be operated remotely to detonate the explosives.
The Taiwanese company Gold Apollo has already spoken out on the matter, indicating that it did authorise the use of its trademark on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, but that they were manufactured by another company based in Budapest.
Moreover, Axios indicates that Israel decided to carry out the attack out of fear that its covert operation might have been discovered by the group. In this regard, Israeli intelligence services planned to use the booby-trapped pagers as an initial surprise strike in an all-out war to try to cripple Hezbollah. In recent days, however, fears grew among Israeli leaders that Hezbollah might discover the booby traps.
WATCH CLOSELY: Videos of Hezbollah members’ pagers exploding in Lebanon are going viral. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that NO CIVILIANS NEARBY appear to be injured—only the person carrying the communication device.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) September 17, 2024
This was an impressively precise attack, targeting ONLY… pic.twitter.com/5xb3MlZJvd
This operation comes at a time of heightened regional tension as fighting between Israel and Hizbollah intensifies. Also, shortly before the massive attack, Israel included among its war aims the return of displaced people from the north to their homes, something that, according to Israeli officials, can only be achieved through ‘military action’ and ‘a fundamental change in the security situation in the north’.
Hezbollah, for its part, refuses to cease its attacks until a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip, a possibility that seems increasingly distant due to Hamas's constant refusals to reach an agreement.
