Lebanon rocked by Hezbollah pager attack

An attack of unprecedented sophistication, blamed on Israel, plunged Lebanon into chaos and panic on Tuesday, September 17. At 3:30 p.m., the pagers of hundreds of people shopping, sitting in cafes or riding their scooters went off, supposedly after receiving a message. For several hours, a ballet of ambulances brought the injured from Hezbollah strongholds to overcrowded hospitals in Beirut, the south of the country and the Bekaa Valley. The victims' hands were mangled, some were disfigured and others had wounds in their groins or legs.

“At around 3:30 p.m., several beepers exploded on employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions based in Lebanon,” Hezbollah said in a statement. One of its officials, quoted by Reuters, acknowledged “the biggest security breach” the movement had ever experienced. According to a preliminary assessment by the Lebanese Health Ministry, nine people were killed and nearly 2,800 injured, 200 of whom are in critical condition. Israel is “fully responsible” for these explosions and will receive a “just punishment,” Hezbollah threatened. Israel did not comment. The Lebanese authorities denounced “a violation” of Lebanese security and “sovereignty.”

Among the victims were an 8-year-old girl, killed when her father's pager exploded, and a son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar. The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was “superficially injured” when his pager exploded, according to a statement from his embassy. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) also reported at least fourteen injured in Syria.

“This is a huge breach of security. If we estimate that Hezbollah's military wing has between 10,000 and 20,000 active members, that means at least 20% of them are wounded, which is huge. That's the number of wounded you get in the course of a war, not in a single attack,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, a Hezbollah expert at the Carnegie think tank in Beirut. The identities of hundreds of Hezbollah fighters jealously guarded by the Shiite party have been revealed. “This precise and far-reaching attack managed to break through the ranks of the organization and touch the heart of every family. It is a major breach that has shaken the group's security, confidence and stability, but I am surprised that it was not followed by an operation against Hezbollah,” the Lebanese expert continued.

war of attrition

This operation is part of a renewed escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in a war of attrition since October 2023, when the Shiite party began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In Lebanon, Israeli retaliatory fire killed over 600 people, including 141 civilians, the rest were fighters from Lebanon-based Hezbollah and allied groups. On the Israeli side, 24 soldiers and 26 civilians were killed. On Tuesday morning, the Israeli government announced that the return of 60,000 displaced people from the north of the country was now one of Israel's “war goals.” The Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, announced that it had foiled an “attempted” Hezbollah attack on a former intelligence officer using an explosive device that activated a mine from Lebanon.

You still have 69.19% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.