Israeli intelligence agents were behind the serial pager bomb attacks that killed nine people, including two young girls, and injured over 2,700 people across Lebanon. More than 2,750 people were wounded across Lebanon, with over 300 in critical condition, after pagers linked to banned terrorist group Hezbollah, exploded over the span of an hour yesterday afternoon.
Scenes of widespread panic and chaos unfolded in Beirut's southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. In neighboring Syria, 14 people were also wounded in the blasts, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It has now been revealed that thousands of Hezbollah's pagers were compromised by Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.
Planting the Explosives
In a horrifying episode that lasted over 30 minutes, victims were seen writhing in pain, suffering from severe injuries to their faces, abdomens, and even groin areas. Among the reported fatalities were two young girls, aged eight and ten, as well as the son of a Lebanese parliamentarian.
Iran also confirmed that its ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, sustained injuries to his face and hand.
According to The New York Times, Hezbollah's pagers were tampered with in a coordinated effort between Mossad, Israel's secretive intelligence agency, and the IDF.
The report suggests that the pagers, sourced from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, were filled with small amounts of explosives—just one or two ounces—along with a detonator.
The detonators went off around 3:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday after a message appeared to come from Hezbollah's leadership. However, instead of receiving orders, the message triggered the explosives.
Footage from inside a Beirut supermarket seemingly captured the moment Israel sent the lethal signal.
A Hezbollah operative appeared confused as he lifted his shirt in the supermarket after receiving a message on his pager, which started flashing. He stared at it briefly before it exploded, instantly knocking him to the ground while panicked workers and shoppers rushed to escape.
Israel's Revenge Plans
Although Israel may have aimed to target Hezbollah fighters, nearly 3,000 people—many of them civilians—were severely injured in the series of explosions.
Disturbing footage from medical centers in Beirut, the country's capital, has exposed the devastating effects of the coordinated blasts, which both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have blamed on Israel.
One chilling video begins with a man, completely soaked in his own blood, missing four fingers and his right eye. The camera then shifts to another man in a wheelchair, also missing several fingers, his face covered in blood.
The footage continues, showing a man on a stretcher with a large portion of his abdomen missing, followed by a man carrying an unconscious child through the hospital.
In another clip, patients are seen writhing in pain on the floor as medical staff scramble to provide care.
Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have directly held Israel responsible for the attack. While Israel has yet to respond, its allies, including the United States, have distanced themselves from the incident.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati denounced the assault as "criminal Israeli aggression" and labeled it a "serious breach of Lebanese sovereignty."
Hezbollah declared Israel "fully accountable" for the coordinated explosions, issuing a warning that the country would face retribution.
"We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression," the group said in a statement, adding that Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression."
The terror group said in a second statement: "After examining all the facts, current data, and available information about the sinful attack that took place this afternoon, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that targeted civilians too."
It added it would continue to support "Palestinian resistance" and that the "treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly be punished for this aggressive act."
The Lebanon-based group, which has been launching almost daily attacks across Israel's northern border since the Gaza conflict began, switched to using old-style radio pagers to avoid their mobile phone communications being intercepted.
These small devices, which can only receive signals and do not transmit, were considered more secure than mobile phones.
Israel has a history of using phone bombs against its enemies. In 1996, it assassinated Hamas military leader Yahya Ayyash with an explosive hidden in a mobile phone, and later killed a Palestinian militant in the West Bank by rigging a payphone he regularly used.
