WIRED – An unprecedented wave of small blasts erupted across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 2,700 after the wireless pagers of Hezbollah members began exploding, according to local officials.
Pagers started exploding at around 3:30 pm local time, according to a statement from Hezbollah officials, who say that “various Hezbollah units and institutions” were impacted in the incident. The blasts continued for more than an hour, according to Reuters.
A Hezbollah statement says a “large” number of people were injured and said they suffered from a wide variety of injuries.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosions, CCTV and phone footage posted to social media, which has not been independently verified, appears to show hospitals flooded with wounded people, as well as apparent explosions happening around waist height and images of damaged pagers.
People with links to the region say the explosions caused street-level chaos … continued below
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On 17 September 2024 at around 15:30 local time, hundreds of Hezbollah militants were seriously wounded in multiple locations across Lebanon when their communication pagers unexpectedly exploded in an apparent coordinated attack.[3][13][15] Additionally, it was reported that the devices were compromised in Iran before being sent to Lebanon.
[A wire service report] indicated that the devices were powered by lithium batteries, which reportedly exploded, going on to note that rechargeable lithium batteries, found in various consumer electronic items and electric vehicles, “when overheated, can smoke, melt and… catch on fire”, and reach temperatures of 1,100 °F.
It has also been reported that the handheld pagers rang for several seconds before the explosion to increase the likelihood that the recipient would answer, thereby maximizing the chance of injury. – WIKIPEDIA
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“Hezbollah’s competent agencies are currently conducting a wide-ranging security and scientific investigation to determine the causes that led to these simultaneous explosions,” Hezbollah said in an initial statement.
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Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, says 2,750 people had been wounded with 200 being critically injured.
The country’s internal security unit made an urgent request for people to keep off the roads to allow people to be transferred to hospitals. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was injured in the blasts.
Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 people in the country had been injured by pager explosions.
The perpetrator of the attack is widely believed to be Israel—fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has intensified since October 7 last year when Hamas fighters attacked Israel.
In a second statement issued after the explosions, reported by Al Jazeera, Hezbollah blames Israel for the “criminal aggression that targeted civilians too” …