An attack in Lebanon reportedly killed eight people and injured over 2,700. Hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously on Tuesday, leading the Iran-backed militant organization to blame Israel. The New York Times reported that Israel was behind the attacks and conducted it by hiding explosive material inside the pagers. A second wave of attacks, these targeting handheld radios used by Hezbollah members, was reported on Wednesday by The Washington Post.
A day after Israeli leaders warned of escalating its military campaign against Hezbollah, pagers belonging to the Lebanese group’s members exploded at once. Witnesses reported seeing smoke emanating from the victims’ pockets, followed by sounds reminiscent of fireworks or gunshots.
Lebanon’s health minister said 200 of the injured were in critical condition. He added that many victims had facial injuries, especially to the eyes. Hand and stomach injuries were also common, according to the health minister. Among those wounded was Mojtaba Amini, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, according to Iranian state media.
A second wave of attacks across different areas of Lebanon on Wednesday reportedly killed one person and injured over 100 others. The latest attacks reportedly targeted “wireless devices.” One of the explosions, triggered by a handheld radio, was reported at a funeral for four victims of Tuesday’s blasts. “Anyone who has a device, take out the battery now!” The Washington Post reported that Hezbollah security members yelled at the mourners. “Turn off your phones, switch it to airplane mode!”
Israel hasn’t commented on the attacks. But NYT reports that officials (including American ones) briefed on the operation said Israel was behind them. They claim as little as one to two ounces of explosive material were planted next to each pager’s battery, along with a switch allowing for remote detonations. At 3PM in Lebanon on Tuesday, the pagers received a message (appearing to be from Hezbollah leadership) that triggered the coordinated explosions, according to officials. The devices allegedly beeped for several seconds before detonating.
The Washington Post reports that the logo of Taiwanese pager maker Gold Apollo was seen on the sabotaged pagers. However, Gold Apollo claimed the devices were “entirely handled” by a Hungarian company, BAC Consulting Kft, which was authorized to use Gold Apollo’s branding in some regions. “That product isn’t ours,” Gold Apollo’s founder and president, Hsu Ching-Kuang, told The New York Times. “They just stick on our company brand.”
Officials speaking with NYT claimed the devices were tampered with before reaching Lebanon. Most were Gold Apollo’s AR924 model, which the company displayed an image of on its website before removing them on Wednesday.
The attacks sparked a wave of fear of using mobile devices. NYT reports some in Lebanon were scared to use their phones after Tuesday’s attacks, with one resident crying out, “Please hang up, hang up!” to their caller.
The Times reports that Hezbollah, long suspicious of cellphone use near the Israeli border due to the devices’ geolocation capabilities, recently switched from mobile phones to pagers. In February, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah reportedly warned the group that their phones were dangerous and could be used by Israel as spy tools. He advised the group that they should “break or bury them.”
Experts reportedly don’t yet know precisely how the pagers were distributed to Hezbollah’s members. They say that Iran, given its history of supplying Hezbollah with arms, tech and other military aid, would have been pivotal to their adoption and delivery.
Update, September 18, 2024, 11:48AM ET: This story has been updated to add new details about Tuesday’s attacks and the second wave of reported blasts on Wednesday.