Thousands of people have been injured in reported pager explosions across Lebanon and Syria. According to Lebanese state media NNA, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said that nine people had died, including a child, and about 2,800 people had been injured.
Israel took action against Hezbollah on Tuesday by hiding explosives in a new shipment of Taiwanese-made pagers imported to Lebanon, according to U.S. and other officials briefed on the operation.
Reuters Hezbollah imported 5,000 pagers this spring, reportedly from Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, according to information provided by “senior Lebanese security sources and another source.” Sources said Israel’s Mossad spy agency modified them before shipping and added a wooden board containing up to three grams of explosive material.
However, in Taiwan on Wednesday, Gold Apollo CEO Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters that the exploding pager was not made by his company, but by a European company that licensed its brand. “The product is not ours. It just has our brand on it,” Xu reportedly said. Reuters. According to CNN, the dealer began importing Hsu products about three years ago and later requested to use the Gold Apollo brand to produce its own equipment.
CNN also reported that “Israel was behind the attack, which was a joint operation between Israeli intelligence, Mossad and the Israeli military.”
The files were apparently intended as a low-tech communications device to avoid location tracking or spyware. “This phone is a collaborator and a killer,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah reportedly told members in a speech earlier this year.
Reuters Sources said 3,000 pagers exploded after receiving coded messages just after 3:30 pm local time. according to New York Times, The message “appears to come from Hezbollah leadership”.
The explosion comes amid months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, coinciding with Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, and a day after Israeli Defense Minister Yov Galant said it was time to reach a diplomatic solution with the group “Not much left.” CNN reported that the Israel Defense Forces said it would not comment on the bombing.
Footage of the explosion and its aftermath has been widely shared on news networks and social media (warning: the footage below shows people injured in the attack). One appears to show a man looking down at a pager while checking out at a store before it explodes and he is pushed backwards. Another surveillance video from the market new york times A man is shown injured when a device inside his bag explodes.
Updated September 17: Added more details about the origin of the explosive device from media reports.
