A series of deadly explosions of handheld pagers took 12 lives and left thousands injured in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has openly blamed Israel for the explosions claiming it a “criminal aggression” and vowed that it will get “fair punishment”.
The Lebanese Shia militia, in a statement, expressed solidarity with Gaza: “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon will continue today, as in all the past days, its blessed operations to support Gaza, its people, and its resistance, and to defend Lebanon, its people, and its sovereignty. This path is continuous and separate from the difficult reckoning that the criminal enemy must await for the massacre on Tuesday that it committed against our people, our families, and our mujahideen in Lebanon. This is another reckoning that will come, God willing.”
“What happened yesterday will increase our determination and resolve to continue on the path of jihad and resistance, and we are absolutely certain of God Almighty’s promise to the faithful, patient mujahideen of victory, God willing,” the statement said further.
On Wednesday, the militant group released a statement and said that it is carrying out “a security and scientific” investigation and asked people not to listen to rumors that are part of “psychological warfare” as Israel threatens to change the facts.
“The resistance, at all its levels, is on high alert to defend Lebanon and its steadfast people,” the statement said.
The pagers linked to the explosions were reportedly manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, a Hungarian company, under a license from Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo. The New York Times, however reported that Hsu Ching-Kuang, founder of Gold Apollo, denied any involvement in the design or manufacturing of the devices and said that the devices were manufactured in Europe. “The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it. We are a responsible company. This is very embarrassing,”he said.
“We authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC,” Gold Apollo said in a statement to media.
Reports by Reuters suggest that Israel’s Mossad spy agency may have planted explosives in thousands of pagers imported by Hezbollah, with sources claiming this operation was months in the making.
"The Mossad injected a board inside the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It’s very hard to detect it through any means,” a Lebanese security source told news agency Reuters. According to the source, the devices detonated when a coded signal was sent, catching many victims unaware as they checked for messages.
The explosions occurred hours after Israeli officials that they would broaden their military objectives in the region, specifically targeting Hezbollah along the Lebanon border. This escalation has raised concerns of further conflict in an already tense region.
Hospitals in Lebanon are struggling to cope with an overwhelming the influx of patients.In Tyre, a field hospital was set up to accommodate the wounded, while the sounds of ambulance sirens echoed throughout Beirut.
An Iranian source revealed to The New York Times that Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini’s injuries were more severe than initially reported, leading to plans for his medical evacuation to Tehran. He reportedly lost one eye of his eyes and was severely injured in the second.
In an emergency session at the UN General Assembly, Lebanon’s ambassador Hadi Hachem, condemned the attacks as a violation of international law. “This aggression rises to a war crime,” he stated, urging the international community to address Israel’s repeated incursions into Lebanon. Hachem warned that the situation could further exacerbate the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
