Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters are wounded when their PAGERS are made to explode, sparking panic across Beirut, with sources blaming Israel
- Hezbollah said the incident is the largest intelligence breach in group’s history
- Any cell phone, Tesla or pager can be remotely detonated by your enemy now
Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters were reportedly killed or wounded this afternoon when the pagers they used to communicate exploded, according to Lebanese security sources.
The shocking incident, which saw scores of Hezbollah members severely injured throughout southern Lebanon and in its capital Beirut, constitutes the single largest intelligence breach in the militant outfit’s history, an official said.
The wave of sudden and unexpected detonations, which began around 3:45pm local time (1345 GMT) and lasted roughly an hour, gave way to widespread panic and chaotic scenes in Beirut.
Victims were seen sporting significant wounds as they lay on the ground surrounded by terrified bystanders in images shared to social media and broadcast by Lebanese and Israeli media.
Speculation is mounting that the technology was somehow hacked or sabotaged by Israeli security services.
One source close to Hezbollah told AFP the incident came as a direct result of an ‘Israeli breach’ of its communications, while another confirmed ‘at least 150 people’ had been wounded – including Iran‘s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.
A different official told AP on condition of anonymity that the cause of the explosions could be the lithium batteries that power the pagers, which can catch on fire when overheated.
Israeli officials are yet to comment.
The stunning incident saw scores of Hezbollah members severely injured throughout southern Lebanon and in its capital Beirut
An image grab taken from a UGC video posted on social media on September 17, 2024, shows men covered in blood in Beirut’s southern suburbs after dozens of Hezbollah group members were injured when their pagers exploded
Pagers used by Hezbollah members for vital communications exploded this afternoon, injuring hundreds
The sudden and unexpected detonations gave way to widespread panic and chaotic scenes in images shared on
Earlier this year, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah urged members of his organisation to revert to using the pagers for vital communications, reasoning that modern smartphones would be more susceptible to cyber attacks by Israeli forces.
Rechargeable lithium batteries are used in consumer products ranging from smartphones and laptops to electric cars.
The battery battery fires can burn up to 590 degrees celsius (1,100 F) when ignited.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said ‘tens of injured have been taken to hospital after the handheld pagers system was detonated using advanced technology’ and relayed urgent calls from hospitals in the country’s south for people to donate blood.
The sudden explosions across southern Lebanon this afternoon come hours after an Israeli strike on Lebanon killed three people, the health ministry said.
Israeli forces have traded near-daily fire with the Iran-backed Lebanese group since its ally Hamas launched the October 7 attacks on Israel, triggering the war in Gaza.
The health ministry said an ‘Israeli enemy strike’ on the border village of Blida killed ‘three people and wounded two’, without specifying if they were fighters or civilians.
Israel’s military said its air force ‘eliminated three terrorists’ from Hezbollah who were at a ‘terrorist infrastructure site’ in the Blida area.
Hezbollah did not immediately announce any fighters had been killed, but claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops and positions near the border on Tuesday.
The NNA reported several Israeli attacks in the south of the country.
Civil Defence first-responders carry a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on the village of Blida in southern Lebanon, as seen from an undisclosed location in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, 17 September 2024
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept an attack from Lebanon over the Galilee region, near Kiryat Shmona, as seen from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024
The latest deaths came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the political-security cabinet had ‘updated the goals of the war’ to include ‘the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes’.
Almost a year of cross-border violence has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that ‘military action’ was the ‘only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities’.
The violence has killed some 627 people in Lebanon, including at least 141 civilians.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.
Hezbollah has repeatedly said that only a ceasefire in Gaza will put an end to its attacks, and diplomatic activity in recent months has sought to avert all-out war.
