Nine Killed in Coordinated Explosion of Hezbollah Pagers in Lebanon

TaiwanPlus News

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is blaming Israel for a mass simultaneous detonation of pager devices that killed nine people and injured almost 3,000 others in Lebanon.

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00:00Unsuspecting shoppers browse through a supermarket in Lebanese capital Beirut

00:04when an explosion sends one man to the ground in pain and this wasn't an

00:11isolated scene. Through the southern suburbs of Lebanon chaos as thousands are

00:19rushed to hospital injured when handheld pages used by Hezbollah militants

00:24detonated in their hundreds all at the same time. The wave of blasts claimed the

00:30lives of nine people including that of an eight-year-old child.

00:54That death toll is expected to rise. Lebanese state media reported the pager

01:06devices used by Hezbollah members to communicate with each other exploded in

01:10several of the militant groups strongholds with civilians caught in the

01:15crossfire. Hezbollah officials say this attack is the biggest security breach

01:19they've experienced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel. Both Hezbollah and

01:24Lebanon placed blame on the neighboring country for the attack and the militant

01:28group has vowed retaliation.

01:32Israel has not commented. It's unknown how these pages were infiltrated but some

01:54cybersecurity analysts suggest they could have been tampered with during the

01:57manufacturing and shipping process allowing for a small explosive device to

02:02be planted on their batteries before delivery. It does appear that the pagers

02:07that exploded were acquired relatively recently by Hezbollah and I would not be

02:11surprised if they were tampered with prior to their having been delivered.

02:15Hezbollah officials say they're launching a major investigation into the

02:19attack but it's largely disabled the group's communication channels. This is

02:24widely being seen as a major escalation that could lead to a wider war in the

02:28Middle East after months of rising tensions. Hamas ally Hezbollah and Israel

02:35have traded daily blows since the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7. An

02:40attack of this scale, this breadth, would seem to suggest that Israel was either

02:45baiting Hezbollah into forcing the issue or into starting it itself. I mean there

02:52is no better way to start a full-blown conflict than to take you know 10-20% of

02:58the entire fighting force of Hezbollah off the battlefield and destroy the

03:02command and control and communications infrastructure. The US has called for a

03:07diplomatic solution adding the importance of securing a ceasefire deal

03:11in settling tensions. But as Lebanon reels from this latest attack on its

03:16soil fear is spreading across the Middle East. Anticipating Hezbollah's response

03:21and what further escalation could mean for the region. James Lynn and Rosie

03:26Greninger for Taiwan Plus

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