Hezbollah’s ‘9/11’: Iranian Ambassador Among 1,000+ Wounded After Israel Remotely Detonates Pagers

Update(1050ET): An eyewitness tells Al Jazeera: “There’s more than 400 men here. Their pagers exploded, the ones they use for communication.” There are regional Lebanese media reports of over 1,200 Hezbollah operatives injured.

Reuters is confirming that Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani is among the wounded in the series of pager explosions, based on a report in Iran’s Mehr news outlet. Follow up reports say he was only lightly injured. Some of the explosions happened in Syria as well, reports say. There are reports of civilian deaths in Beirut, including children. Some of the explosions happened inside homes, where the pagers were on shelves or bedstands.

An Al Jazeera correspondent writes, “We are talking about hundreds of members of the group in hospitals. We are seeing videos online of injuries to their arms, to their legs, even to their faces.” The Lebanese Health Ministry is urging for doctors and nurses to rush to south Beirut hospitals amid a shortage. Reuters is reporting that among the confirmed killed is a Hezbollah Member of Parliament’s son, who was part of the armed wing.

From an alleged Hezbollah source cited in AP and Israeli media:

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, says the explosions were the result of “a security operation that targeted the devices.”

“The enemy [Israel] stands behind this security incident,” the official says, without elaborating.

He adds that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying have lithium batteries that apparently exploded.

Does this signal the start of a larger anti-Hezbollah campaign? It appears so. And Hezbollah is definitely expected to escalate from its side. This could be the start of a new Lebanon war, bigger in scope that than the 2006 war.

Many will ask: why pagers? A regional correspondent and past ZeroHedge contributor explains:

Military analyst Elijah Magnier has told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah relies heavily on the so-called pagers to avoid Israel intercepting its members’ communications.

He also suggested that these devices might have been pre-tampered before they were dispersed among Hezbollah members.

“This is not a new system. It has been used in the past,” he said. “So in this case there has been involvement of a third party … to allow access … to remotely activate the explosion,” he said.

* * *

An apparent covert Mossad operation has unleashed chaos in a southern Beirut neighborhood on Tuesday, resulting in large-scale casualties among Hezbollah operatives and reportedly Lebanese civilians.

Telecommunications devices used by Hezbollah members began exploding, resulting in up to hundreds wounded in the suburb of Dahiyeh. There appears to be fatalities, according to graphic social media images.

Reuters reports, “Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, including fighters and medics, were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded,” according to security sources. Al Jazeera has cited eyewitnesses who say there are over 400 victims at just one hospital.

“A Reuters journalist saw 10 Hezbollah members bleeding from wounds in the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh,” the report continues.

It is as yet unclear how precisely Israeli intelligence was able to infiltrate Hezbollah’s telecoms – whether small bombs were placed in the pagers or possibly the result of some kind of large-scale cyberhack. But what is becoming clear is that they were remotely detonated.

A Hezbollah official was cited anonymously in Reuters, calling the incident the “biggest security breach” the group has ever faced since the start of the nearly-year long conflict with Israel. Groups like Hezbollah often use low-tech devices to communicate with each other, given cell phones are easier for intelligence services to intercept.

“Residents said explosions were taking place even 30 minutes after the initial blasts,” the report notes further, citing eyewitnesses. People are also urgently calling for blood donations, given this appears a mass casualty event.

Good morning cyber folks. A borderline literally incredible story from Lebanon, where Reuters is reporting that a simultaneous mass attack on Hezbollah members was…Israel hacking their pagers. Possibly Teletrim, per @michaelh992 https://t.co/FVBNqrNTdChttps://t.co/IhLlbMBFID

— Kevin Collier (@kevincollier) September 17, 2024

Local hospitals are said to be inundated with victims as well as groups of family members rushing to entrances trying to find out what’s going on.

Israel has yet to comment on the apparent covert operation.

? Security camera footage shows a pager being detonated in a market.

A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, stated, “This is the most significant intelligence breach.” https://t.co/6KVC80wvBi pic.twitter.com/pegD3LLbvT

— BigBreakingWire (@BigBreakingWire) September 17, 2024

A prominent Lebanese and regional war monitor account had this to say…

I severely doubt it’s some technological strike, most likely explosive planted inside the pager.

Whatever it is, the consequences will be dire.

(Stop taking pictures of the wounded, you fucking imbeciles) pic.twitter.com/RIScKZrGTK

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) September 17, 2024

Most videos are too graphic, but the below shows some of the chaos in the aftermath of the initial explosions.

Footage from Dahiyeh, #Lebanon ??, where a @Reuters journalist reports seeing 10 Hezbollah members bleeding from wounds due to their pagers exploding pic.twitter.com/XmyJBLZYvZ

— Aleph ? (@no_itsmyturn) September 17, 2024

developing…