In Lebanon, explosions at a warehouse have claimed 11 lives and injured over 2,700 people, with around 200 in critical condition.

Beirut (Lebanon) : Lebanon has been shaken by pager explosions. On Tuesday, these blasts have claimed at least 11 lives. Thousands of pagers belonging to the terrorist group Hezbollah exploded simultaneously. According to The New York Times, the Lebanese Health Minister stated that the blasts resulted in over 2,700 injuries.

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the explosions.

As reported by the Lebanese newspaper L'Orient Today, most of the pager explosions occurred in Beirut's Dahieh, as well as in Tyre, Nabatiyeh, Marjayoun, and Bekaa Valley. The Lebanese Health Minister reported 2,750 injuries, with around 200 in critical condition. Among the injured are Hezbollah fighters and medical personnel. The explosions reportedly occurred continuously for about an hour starting at 3:45 PM, with some happening in crowded areas like supermarkets.

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured in the incident.

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, Hezbollah has attributed the pager explosions to Israel. Notably, a few months ago, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah urged his fighters to avoid using smartphones, claiming that Israel had the technology to hack them or extract information. It is believed that this led Hezbollah to rely on pagers instead of smartphones, which ultimately resulted in tragedy for many innocent lives.

Taiwanese Pagers

The New York Times reported that, according to American and other officials, Hezbollah imported pagers and beepers from a Taiwanese company. These devices contained a small amount of explosive material. Officials stated that Israel had concealed explosive materials within a new batch of Taiwan-made pagers imported into Lebanon.

Tampering Before Arrival

Some officials noted that the pagers ordered by Hezbollah from Gold Apollo in Taiwan were tampered with before arriving in Lebanon. Most of the pagers were of the company’s AP924 model, with three other Gold Apollo models included in the shipment. Two officials claimed that each pager contained one to two ounces of explosive material next to the battery, along with a switch that could be activated remotely.

Experts on such operations reported that at 3:30 PM in Lebanon, a message was sent to the pagers. It was presumed to be from Hezbollah leadership; however, this message activated the explosives, leading to the devastating blasts.

Hezbollah Supports Hamas

Currently, the Israeli army has declined to comment on this incident. It is noteworthy that Hamas attacked Israel in October of last year, leading to a war in Gaza, in which Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel in support of its ally Hamas.