Paging Hezbollah
Terror group blames Israel for wave of explosions
BEIRUT — Pagers used by hundreds of members of the terrorist group Hezbollah exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria Tuesday, killing at least nine people — including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding several thousand, officials said.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack.
Among those wounded was Iran's ambassador to Lebanon.
The mysterious explosions came amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have exchanged fire across the Israel-lebanon border since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza.
The pagers that blew up had apparently been acquired by Hezbollah after the group's leader ordered members in February to stop using cellphones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence.
A Hezbollah official told The Associated Press the pagers were a new brand, but declined to say how long they had been in use.
At about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, as people shopped for groceries, sat in cafes or drove cars and motorcycles in the afternoon traffic, the pagers in their hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders.
It appeared that many of those hit were members of Hezbollah, but it wasn't immediately clear if others also carried the pagers.
The blasts were mainly in areas where the group has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, according to Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official.
The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli military declined to comment.
The explosions came hours after Israel's internal security agency said it had foiled an attempt by Hezbollah to kill a former senior Israeli security official using a planted explosive device that could be remotely detonated.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States “was not aware of this incident in advance” and wasn't involved.
Experts said the pager explosions pointed to a long-planned operation, possibly carried out by infiltrating the supply chain and rigging the devices with explosives before they were delivered to Lebanon.