Pagery exploded on Tuesday over a period of about 40 minutes in areas considered to be the most important strongholds of the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollahor in the suburbs Beirutw Bekaa Valleyin the south Lebanon and in Syria. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, about 2800 peopleof which 200 is said to be in critical condition. Among the injured are said to be about a thousand members of Hezbollah – according to the group's first statement.
Initially, a smaller number of deaths was reported – now it is said to be at least 9 people, two of whom belonged to Hezbollah. One of the fatalities is also 9-year-old Fatima Jaafar Abdullahwhose father was also a member of the organization. The girl was killed when her father's pager exploded, next to which she happened to be standing.
As the Times of Israel notes, Hezbollah's initial statement did not blame Israel for the attack – a point that was later changed.”According to our findings, Israel bears full responsibility for this criminal attack.which also affected the civilian population,” Hezbollah said in a statement, adding that the response would come both “from directions the enemy expects” and those for which he is not prepared.
He also commented on the pager explosions Lebanese Minister of Information Ziad Makarywho said his country condemns “Israeli aggression.” Makary is the first Lebanese official to directly blame Israel for the attack. According to Lebanese Al Manar television, Makary is said to have contacted the UN to “hold the perpetrator accountable.”
Shortly afterwards, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that “preparations have begun Complaintswhich is to be submitted UN Security Council“Lebanese Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced on Wednesday closure of all public and private schools and universities across the country. The decision was made in “protest” against the aforementioned attack.
So far Telephone did not comment on the explosion. It is worth noting, however, that the chief of staff Israel Defense Forces Gen. Herzi Halevi said authorities were discussing readiness “to attack and defend.” The military official did not mention that this could be related to the explosions in Lebanon and Syria.
Saudi-owned news channel Alhadath reports that Iran's ambassador to Lebanon – Mojtaba Amani – who was also injured in the pager explosion is in “good condition”. The diplomat's injuries are said to be only superficial, and the man is said to be conscious. The head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was not injured in the explosion. – a source in the organization told Reuters.
Hezbollah pager explosion also condemned Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“We are fully confident that the Islamic resistance movement in Lebanon and Syria will be able to absorb this cruel blow, quickly contain its consequences and respond to the enemy in proportion to the scale of the crime,” the statement said, pointing out that the attack was aimed at civilians, especially the families of fighters.
Let's recall: pagers are wireless, electronic devices used to communicate via short text messages read from the display. In recent months Hezbollah has given up on smartphones and purchased a uniform type of pager for its members. This was to protect terrorists from surveillance by Israeli services.
According to I24, the models that exploded were Taiwanese-made Gold Apollo AR-924s. The editorial team noted that from the footage on social media, “they seem to indicate a different nature than explosions that occur with overheated batteries.”
Sources: ANI, Alhadath, Al Manar TV, Times of Israel, Reuters, I24