Exploding pagers injure hundreds in attack targeting Hezbollah members, Lebanese security source says

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

239. With the information at this time, it would appear not.

Last edited Wed Sep 18, 2024, 02:43 AM - Edit history (1)

Enough sources are stating (and The NY Times cites an anonymous source) that the phones contained explosives that were simultaneously triggered somehow, and that they were prepared by some branch of the Israeli state. We don't know enough of the particulars yet, however.

If Hezbollah in general was the target, and Mossad, Shin Bet, Aman, or a more secret branch of Israeli intelligence thought the phones were all going to the Lebanese political party/militia; it would appear that, after about 3000 people injured, that at least some of those pagers found their way into the public marketplace. I expect casualty revisions over the next few days and both the dead and wounded totals to rise Hezbollah has announced that two of its men were killed. As of right now (23:00 MDT, 17 Sept.), two other deaths have been reported; the son of a Hezbollah MP and a little girl. That leaves four of the eight reported deaths as "unknown." Various sources report that the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon was injured, though we don't know how seriously. The only other story about a wounded person I've seen reported was a guy shopping in a grocery store whose pager explosion was reportedly caught on store cameras. His political affiliation is unreported and no, we can't jump to conclusions.

Again, we need more solid data before we can understand enough of what happened to draw conclusions. That's really hard given the region and its politics and press, as well as the highly emotional biases of supporters and detractors of the hostile parties outside the region.