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on september 17, local time, hundreds of pagers exploded simultaneously across lebanon, killing at least 12 people, including two children, and injuring about 2,800 people. the target of this massive attack appears to be the iranian-backed militia group hezbollah. hezbollah and iran quickly blamed israel for the action. a u.s. official said israel informed the united states after the attack, saying the attack detonated a small amount of explosives hidden in the pagers. israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the action. lebanese state media reported that a second wave of attacks on equipment took place on the 18th, this time walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in the capital beirut and other parts of lebanon. the lebanese ministry of health said that at least 20 people were killed and more than 450 were injured in the second wave of attacks. analysts said that the attack exacerbated the long-simmering conflict between israel and hezbollah and could escalate into a wider war.

two waves of equipment explosion attacks

according to officials familiar with the attack, at 3:30 p.m. on the 17th, pagers carried by hundreds of hezbollah fighters began beeping, thinking they had received messages from the organization's leadership. however, soon, the pagers in the hands or pockets of the owners began to heat up and then exploded. the explosions occurred in grocery stores, sidewalks and even on moving motorcycles, leaving blood-stained blast sites and panicked bystanders.

lebanese officials said at least 12 people were killed in the pager explosion on the 17th, including two children and the son of a hezbollah lawmaker. hezbollah said at least eight of the dead were hezbollah fighters.another 2,800 people were injured, including the iranian ambassador to lebanon.at least 14 people were also injured in syria in the attack, according to the britain-based syrian observatory for human rights.

two lebanese security officials and a hezbollah official said some of the equipment that exploded on the 18th were handheld walkie-talkies used by hezbollah members. two officials familiar with the matter said one of the walkie-talkies was branded icom. it is not clear from which company hezbollah purchased the equipment. meanwhile, according to us media reporters at the scene, several explosions were heard at a funeral in beirut for three hezbollah members and a child who were killed by a pager the day before. a photojournalist saw a car and a mobile phone store damaged by equipment explosions in the southern coastal city of sidon. in the south, a solar system exploded, injuring a girl, according to the lebanese national news agency.

pager explosions cause huge harm to civilians

lebanese health minister firas abiad told reporters during a visit to the hospital on the morning of the 18th that many of the injured had serious eye injuries and some had amputations. abiad said the injured had been sent to hospitals in different regions to avoid overloading any one hospital. he said türkiye,iraq, iran, syria and egypt have expressed their willingness to help treat patients. in addition, he also revealed that earlier on the 18th, an iraqi military plane carrying 15 tons of medicines and medical equipment landed in beirut.

lebanon's caretaker prime minister najib mikati condemned theisraelthe iranian foreign minister strongly condemned the israeli attack and said iran was willing to provide treatment for the injured or transfer them to tehran. hamas condemned the pager explosion on the 17th and expressed its "full solidarity with the lebanese people and hezbollah brothers."

it is worth noting that when the explosion occurs, there are often family members or bystanders of the pager holders nearby. although these pagers are used by hezbollah members, there is no guarantee who was holding the pager at the time of the explosion. in addition, many of the casualties are not hezbollah fighters, but members of the organization's pan-civilian operations serving local communities. among the people killed on the 17th were at least two health workers. doctors, nurses, caregivers, charity workers, teachers and office administrators all work in organizations linked to hezbollah, and the number of them with pagers is unknown. mary ellen o'connell, professor of law and international peace studies at the university of notre dame, said,international law prohibits the use of booby traps"it is strictly forbidden to weaponize objects used by civilians," she said. un high commissioner for human rights volker türk called for an independent investigation into the massive blast, saying: "the fear and terror it has caused is profound."

why do pagers explode?

according to u.s. and other officials briefed on the operation, israel planted explosives in a batch of pagers imported into lebanon. the explosives, just one to two ounces (28 to 56 grams), were placed next to the battery in each pager. a switch was also placed to trigger the explosives remotely.

gold apollo, the supplier of the pagers, distanced itself from the devices and said on the 18th that another hungarian manufacturer produced the pager model used in the attack under its own brand as part of a licensing agreement.

officials revealed that hezbollah ordered more than 3,000 pagers from golden apollo and distributed them not only to fighters but also to rank-and-file members across lebanon and in syria and iran. it is not clear when the pagers were ordered or when they arrived in lebanon.

hezbollah has been using pagers for years to make interception more difficult.according to security experts, the group's reliance on pagers increased after the oct. 7 hamas attack, when its leaders warned that israeli intelligence had penetrated the cellphone network.

after analyzing the pictures of the explosion on the 18th, foreign media pointed out that the walkie-talkies on the 18th were larger and heavier than the pagers on the 17th, and in some cases caused larger fires, indicating that these devices may contain more explosives. the walkie-talkie model involved in the attack on the 18th was ic-v82, a walkie-talkie from the japanese icom company. it is not clear where hezbollah purchased these radio devices.

a sales manager of icom's us subsidiary said in an interview with the media that the walkie-talkies destroyed in the bombing in lebanon may be counterfeit products, not produced by icom. the sales manager pointed out that icom launched the ic-v82 walkie-talkie more than 20 years ago, but it has long been discontinued.

israel's military focus shifted fromgazatransfer to lebanon

since the outbreak of the israeli-hazal war, hezbollah has also begun firing on israel in solidarity with hamas and has vowed not to stop fighting until israel withdraws from gaza. given this relationship, officials on all sides have hoped for months that a ceasefire in gaza would lead to a similar agreement in lebanon.the expectation is that a solution in gaza would end hezbollah's war and prevent a larger israeli attack on lebanon.

with gaza negotiations at an impasse, the israeli leadership faces increasing domestic pressure to find other ways to force hezbollah to ceasefire. as a result, the israeli leadership has recently increased its public focus on hezbollah. israel's prime minister and defense minister issued a statement on the 18th, making it clear that the military's focus is shifting from the gaza strip in southern israel to lebanon, where hezbollah is active. "the focus is shifting north, which means that we are allocating troops, resources and energy to the battlefield in the north," israeli defense minister galant said in a speech to the army on the 18th. "we are at the beginning of a new phase of the war."

analysts pointed out that for the israelis, they are not sure whether the bombing attack is out of short-term opportunism or long-term foresight. some people believe that israeli officials are worried that their pager secrets have recently been discovered by hezbollah, so they have taken action in advance. others say that israel has specific strategic intentions.israel may be hoping that the strike will convince hezbollah to sign a ceasefire in the coming weeks, if not immediately.“if israel is behind this operation, as hezbollah claims, then the purpose of this operation may be to show hezbollah that it will pay a very high price if it continues to attack israel instead of reaching an agreement,” amos yadlin, former head of israel’s military intelligence, said in an interview.

△israeli defense minister galant.

others are skeptical, arguing that even if hezbollah is frustrated in this attack, it is unlikely to change direction. israeli columnist avi issacharoff wrote in a commentary on the 18th that the attack "will not prompt hezbollah to stop its attacks on civilian communities in northern israel, but will escalate the attacks." sima shine, a former senior official at israel's foreign intelligence agency mossad, said hezbollah considers itself iran's most influential ally in the middle east, so it will try to avoid giving the impression that hezbollah has abandoned hamas.

news sources: associated press, new york times, some pictures from the internet

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