Several killed, thousands injured as vast wave of pager explosions ...

(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) At least 9 people were killed and thousands were injured when pagers held by Hezbollah members across Lebanon exploded on Tuesday afternoon, in what appeared to be a widescale, coordinated attack.

The unprecedented wave of explosions, which also reportedly killed and injured several people in Syria, sparked chaos in a region already on high alert for the outbreak of full-scale hostilities.

It came hours after Israel designated the halting of Hezbollah’s attacks one of its main war goals and announced that it had foiled an assassination attempt by the Iranian proxy group against a former senior official.

Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said in an evening press conference that nine people were killed and 2,750 more were injured in the blasts, including some 200 people in critical condition.

Ambulances carrying Hezbollah members and others with bloodied limbs and faces streamed to hospitals for hours after the blasts, overwhelming health services.

Hezbollah said three people were killed, including two members of the group, and blamed Israel for the spree of pager blasts, promising to retaliate.

A Civil Defense first responder carries a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded, at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, September 17, 2024. (The Times of Israel: AP/Hussein Malla)

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” the group said in a statement, adding that Israel “will certainly receive its fair punishment for this sinful aggression.”

Also among the dead were the son of a Hezbollah lawmaker, reportedly Lebanese MP Ali Ammar, and the 10-year-old daughter of a member of the terror group, according to Lebanese sources.

The girl was killed when her father’s pager exploded as she was standing beside him, her family and a source close to Hezbollah said.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was lightly injured by an exploding pager, Iran’s state-run media said.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was not hurt in the explosions, the group said.

In Syria, seven people were killed in the coordinated attack, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Saberin News.

The fatalities were reportedly in the Damascus neighborhood of Seyedah Zeinab, a Shiite stronghold.

Blaming Israel

Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary said his country condemned the “Israeli aggression,” becoming the first Lebanese official to directly implicate Israel.

Israel did not respond to allegations that it had been behind the attack; the Israel Defense Forces said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met with top brass for talks “with an emphasis on readiness for attack and defense in all arenas.”

Hebrew media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and other security chiefs were meeting at the Defense Ministry headquarters at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv following the apparent attack.

The wave of explosions started at about 3:45 p.m. local time and lasted around an hour. It was not immediately clear how the devices were detonated, but media outlets reported that owners received a message before the blasts.

A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the handheld pagers, a new brand used by the group, first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others.

Regional broadcasters carried CCTV footage that showed what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to a grocery store cashier where an individual was making a payment spontaneously exploding.

In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand in a market area.

Other photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.

New pagers

During the apparent cyberattack, some Hezbollah members felt their pagers heating up and disposed of them before they exploded, an unnamed Hezbollah official told The Wall Street Journal.

The official reportedly added that hundreds of fighters had these communication devices, speculating that they may have heated up and detonated due to malware.

People donate blood for those who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers, at a Red Cross center, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, September 17, 2024. (The Times of Israel: AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

The Hezbollah communication devices that exploded throughout Lebanon and in Syria were the latest model, brought in by the terror group in recent months, three security sources told Reuters.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, a Hezbollah official said the explosions were the result of “a security operation that targeted the devices.” He added that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries, which can smoke, melt, and even catch fire when overheated.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has 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.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry called on people who own pagers to get away from them. It also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.

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.

Israel silent, civilian guidelines unchanged

Amid concern Israel’s alleged role in the attack could lead to a response by Hezbollah, the IDF’s Home Front Command told local authorities there is a possibility of an escalation following the series of Hezbollah pager explosions in Lebanon, Hebrew media outlets reported.

However, there was no announced change to civilian guidelines, including in northern Israel, where Hezbollah rockets and drones have terrorized communities for months, bringing the sides to the brink of war.

Israeli leaders in recent days have expressed their belief that only military action can bring an end to the clashes along the northern border. Hezbollah began launching near-daily attacks on the north on October 8, but claims it is not interested in war, and has said it will halt the attacks, meant to support the Hamas terror group in Gaza, when the war there ends. Both the Iranian-backed terror groups avowedly seek to destroy Israel.

Despite widespread speculation Israel had been behind the attack, Netanyahu’s office quickly distanced itself from a close associate of the premier who hinted on social media that Jerusalem was responsible.

“This didn’t age well,” Likud spokesman Topaz Luk commented on an X post that claimed Netanyahu wouldn’t make any major move in Lebanon before his trip to New York next week. Luk, who was formerly Netanyahu’s spokesman, deleted the comment a short while later.

“Topaz Luk hasn’t been serving as the prime minister’s spokesman for a few months now, and isn’t in the close circle of discussion,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Hebrew media also reported that Netanyahu’s office had ordered all ministers to avoid media appearances.

So far, the skirmishes in the north have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been forced from their homes near the northern border by relentless Hezbollah rocket fire, and have been relocated further south for the past 11 months.

Hezbollah has named 443 members who have been killed by Israel during the fighting, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 79 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.

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