At least nine people are dead and around 2,800 injured in Lebanon in an attack targeting the pagers of Hezbollah members, the Lebanese health minister said. Follow our live updates.
held by members of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to the country’s health minister.according to the New York TimesAn image of a damaged pager circulating on social media. CNN could not geolocate the attached image taken from social media,but has verified that they were published on Tuesday, the same day as the explosions.
Israel placed explosive material in a batch of Taiwanese-made pagers which were imported into Lebanon and destined for Hezbollah, the New York Times reported, citing American and other officials briefed on the operation.. The devices detonated simultaneously after receiving a message on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 9 people and injuring more than 2,800 — including at least 170 of whom were in critical condition, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
“We were surprised that there were a lot of people … there was blood on the roads and people were being transported in ambulances to the hospital. But we did not know what was happening,” he said. Israel has characteristically not claimed responsibility, but if it was behind the attack as Lebanon and Hezbollah say, then the question is whether this vast and unprecedented assault was intended to presage a wider fight.
Though Austin and Gallant are in regular contact, it’s uncommon to schedule two calls in one day and shows how seriously the US views the current situation. When Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel on April 13, the two also spoke twice. Justin Cappos, a cybersecurity professor at NYU, said that it’s possible to cause damage to a variety of batteries – most commonly lithium batteries, which. But he said it seems like the “devices were intentionally designed to explode when triggered, not a pager that everyone else in the world is using.”
Air France is also suspending flights to Beirut through Thursday, amid fears of escalation in the region.The pager explosions in Lebanon “mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” according to Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon.
In a televised address over six months ago, Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah called on Hezbollah members and their families in southern Lebanon, where fighting with Israeli forces across the border has raged for nearly a year, to forgo their cell phones. This is considered one of the key building blocks of the powerful group that has long been accused of operating as a state-within-a-state.
His spokesperson Yair Zivan said Lapid was forced to change his plans due to the situation in the region. Araghchi posted to X offering condolences to the families of the victims and the injured, pledging to provide necessary medical assistance.Araghchi also spoke with Amani’s wife, ensuring Iran’s support for his recovery and offering assistance for his possible transfer to Tehran.The pagers that exploded were new and had been purchased by Hezbollah in recent months, a Lebanese security source has told CNN.
“We value the jihad and sacrifices of our brothers in Hezbollah, and their determination to continue supporting and backing our Palestinian people in Gaza. We express our full solidarity with the Lebanese people and our brothers in Hezbollah, offering our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims,” Hamas said.
“Do it for the sake of security and to protect the blood and dignity of people,” Nasrallah said, adding, “The collaborator is the cell phone in your hands, and those of your wife and your children. This cell phone is the collaborator and the killer.”The US was “not involved” in the series of pager explosions in Lebanon and was “not aware” of any attack in advance, according to a State Department spokesperson.
“We’re gathering information through diplomatic channels as well as other channels about this incident,” he said, but would not say if the US has had conversations with Israeli or Lebanese officials.Asked if there were indications that Iran could retaliate, given reports that the Iranian ambassador was injured, Miller said he did not want to speculate until those reports were confirmed.
Citing Education Minister Abbas al-Halabi, NNA reported that technical institutes as well as the Lebanese University and all private higher education institutions would also close “in condemnation of the criminal act committed by the Israeli enemy against citizens, which caused martyrdom and wounded thousands.”Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant conducts an operational situation assessment with the IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and senior defense officials.
But Tuesday’s exploding pagers attack represents a level of escalation that is perhaps even greater than the assassination of Fu’ad Shukr, the senior Hezbollah commander killed by an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb in lateJuly. Now, perhaps thousands of Hezbollah militants have been injured in the pager explosions—a major blow to the Iranian-backed group. The explosions underscore Hezbollah’s profound vulnerability to Israeli infiltration of its intelligence and communications networks.Experts have shared two competing theories as to how hundreds of pagers could have exploded simultaneously.
“The complexity needed to pull this off is incredible. It would have required many different intelligence components and execution. Human intelligence would be the main method used to pull this off, along with intercepting the supply chain in order to make modifications to the pagers,” he added.Ambulance crews based in northern Lebanon are being deployed to Beirut following the pager explosions, according to the Lebanese Ambulance Association.
Ziad Makary, the information minister, said in a news conference in Beirut that the Lebanese government has contacted the United Nations and the concerned countries “to hold them accountable for this continuing crime.”The pager explosions have left Hezbollah with few good options in its conflict with Israel, says Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal attack which led to the martyrdom of several people, impacted civilians and injured a large number of people with various types of injuries,” the Lebanese militant group said in a statement released Tuesday evening. Abiad added that many hospitals in southern Lebanon have exceeded capacity due to the sheer number of injured people arriving. More than 100 hospitals in Lebanon — largely in the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Beqaa valley — received injured people.
Although Hezbollah’s response to the Israeli assassination of the senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut suburb in July was “relatively muted,” Jones said Hezbollah will now have no choice but to retaliate.“If this thing continues to creep up the escalatory ladder, Hezbollah has a lot that they can throw at Israel,” Jones warned.
While the return of residents of northern Israel has long been understood to be a political necessity for Netanyahu’s government, this is the first time it has been made an official war goal.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
At least 9 dead, hundreds injured as Hezbollah hit by exploding pagers in Lebanon and SyriaLebanon’s health minister says eight killed, 2,750 wounded by exploding pagers across the country.
Read more »
Pagers Explode in Lebanon, Injuring Hundreds of Members of HezbollahThe 1980s-style telecommunications device is popular with militants and criminals because of its perceived safety and security.
Read more »
Dozens of Hezbollah members reportedly injured in Lebanon by exploding pagersDozens of Hezbollah members were reportedly injured when their pagers exploded in the Iran-backed group's Beirut and south Lebanon strongholds.
Read more »
Lebanon explosions: Hezbollah apparently targeted as pagers detonate, dozens reported hurtDozens of people were injured Tuesday when handheld pagers exploded in the suburbs of Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, according to Lebanese state media.
Read more »
Hezbollah members among hundreds wounded after pagers explode in Lebanon and Syria, officials sayA Hezbollah official tells The Associated Press that “several hundred” people, including members of the group, were wounded in different parts of Lebanon when their handheld pagers exploded.
Read more »
Hezbollah members among hundreds wounded after pagers explode in Lebanon and Syria, officials sayA Hezbollah official tells The Associated Press that “several hundred” people, including members of the group, were wounded in different parts of Lebanon when their handheld pagers exploded. The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said a few Hezbollah fighters were also wounded in Syria when the pagers they were carrying exploded.
Read more »