Hundreds of Hezbollah members were injured on Tuesday after their pagers exploded simultaneously in several strongholds of the pro-Iranian group in Lebanon. What exactly happened? Who is behind this unprecedented attack? What are the initial reactions? 20 Minutes takes stock.
What happened?
On Tuesday afternoon, several hundred Hezbollah members were injured after their beepers exploded simultaneously. Members of the pro-Iranian Lebanese group now use beepers because of the risk of cellphone hacking.
The incidents took place across the country, including in the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley. These locations are all known to be strongholds of the Islamist group. Other Hezbollah members deployed in Syria were also injured. According to the National News Agency (ANI), “the pager system was hacked using high technology.” This is the first time that such a procedure has been used since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023.
A very heavy toll of victims
As announced by the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the toll is very heavy with nine people killed and more than 2,800 injured. Among the victims are the sons of two Hezbollah MPs, Ali Ammar and Hassan Fadlallah, as well as a 10-year-old girl and her father. An AFP correspondent located in the Bekaa saw wounded people arriving in large numbers at hospitals in the region. Another correspondent in the city of Saida, in southern Lebanon, reported dozens of ambulances arriving at hospitals.
According to sources close to Hezbollah cited by AFP, the son of a senior Hezbollah security official was also injured. Iranian state television announced that its ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, was also among the injured. Health Minister Firass Abiad said that most of the victims were hit “in the face, hand, stomach and even eyes.”
Who is behind this massive attack?
For the moment, the simultaneous explosions of the pagers have not been attributed. But several sources close to Hezbollah have directly accused Israel of being behind them. While Israel has not reacted, AFP recalled that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had stated that “military action” against Hezbollah was “the only way to guarantee the return of the inhabitants of northern Israel to their homes.”
Quoted by France Info, Janane Khoury, a cybersecurity advisor, indicated that this was an “attack of spectacular scale and unprecedented nature. But I am not surprised that its authors used this vector. And this is an area in which Israel has certain know-how, with experienced technicians and dedicated applications, potentially capable of interacting with all connected objects,” she said.
What are the reactions?
Among the first reactions, the Islamist movement issued a statement saying that Israel was “entirely responsible.” The party also assured that Israel would “receive its just punishment” following “this criminal aggression.”
Hamas claimed, according to AFP, that these explosions were a “Zionist terrorist aggression”. The United States also reacted by indicating that it was “not aware” and “not involved”. The State Department also urged “Iran not to use any event to try to fuel instability and further aggravate tensions in the region”.
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