In what appears to be a coordinated strike, at least eight terrorists were reported killed and nearly 3000 injured after Hezbollah-linked communication devices exploded across Lebanon. “Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, said at least eight people were killed and 2,750 wounded — 200 of them critically,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday afternoon.
Video clips and pictures on social media show Hezbollah terrorists suffering serious wounds from detonating beepers that the Shia-jihadist group had been using to run its nationwide communications operation.
Some terrorists appear to have died at the scene, graphic social media posts indicate. Many terrorists carried their pagers in hip pockets or close to their bodies thereby suffering fatal wounds, posts suggest.
The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was also reportedly injured in the apparent strike. It is unclear why Iran’s envoy was using communication devices issued by the Hezbollah terrorist group. “Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was reportedly among those who were injured on Tuesday by the explosions,” The Guardian newspaper reported.
The beepers in question appear to have been purchased recently by the terrorist group. “A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others.” the AP News disclosed.
A Hezbollah spokesman described the incident as the “biggest security breach” since the terrorist group intensified attacks on Israel in the wake of the October 7 massacre.
Reuters covered the details of the large-scale security breach:
More than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, security sources told Reuters.A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza war erupted last October, the worst such escalation in years.The Israeli military declined to comment on Reuters enquiries about the detonations.Iran’s Mehr news agency said the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured by one of the blasts. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.A Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, amid widespread panic. A security source said that devices were also exploding in the south of Lebanon.At Mt. Lebanon hospital, a Reuters reporter saw motorcycles rushing to the emergency room, where people with their hands bloodied were screaming in pain.The head of the Nabatieh public hospital in the south of the country, Hassan Wazni, told Reuters that around 40 wounded people were being treated at his facility. The wounds included injuries to the face, eyes and limbs.The wave of explosions lasted around an hour after the initial detonations, which took place about 3:45 p.m. local time (1345 GMT). It was not immediately clear how the devices were detonated.
While Hezbollah pointed fingers at Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities did not comment on the mysterious strike that appears to have crippled the activities of the Lebanon-based terrorist group. “The communication devices detonated allegedly after being hacked by Israel,” The Times of Israel reported. “There is no comment from Israel on the incident.”
The coordinated strike cripples Hezbollah’s command and control structure as the Iran-sponsored terrorist group threatens to go to war with Israel.
Pager, a communication devices from the 1990s, was Hezbollah’s attempt to keep Israel from hacking or disrupting its network. “Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes,” the AP News noted Tuesday.
The incident took place as Hezbollah continued to launch cross-border rocket and drone attacks on northern Israeli towns and cities.
“Following the sirens that sounded over the past hour in the Upper Galilee Area regarding hostile aircraft infiltrations, a number of UAVs were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Some of the UAVs were intercepted and some fell in an area adjacent to Ramot Naftali. No injuries were reported,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a press release Tuesday. “Sirens regarding rocket and missile launches were activated due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception.”
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