Exploding pagers, psychological warfare: Israel’s attack on Hezbollah
A person is carried on a stretcher outside American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in the aftermath of pagers exploding in Beirut, Lebanon, 17 September 2024
Justin Salhani writes in Al Jazeera on 18 September 2024:
Beirut, Lebanon – At least nine people were killed and some 3,000 injured, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, when thousands of pagers exploded – nearly simultaneously – in Lebanon.
The attack on Tuesday, which purportedly targeted members of the Hezbollah group, caused havoc in civilian areas and overwhelmed hospitals. A resident of the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp told Al Jazeera traffic was heavy as bloodied people arrived at the nearby Al Rassoul al-Azam Hospital. Lebanese hospitals called on all available medics to report for duty as injured people poured through their doors in need of treatment, many covered in blood and in visible pain.
Iranian media said Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was injured by an exploding pager. Iran’s mission in Beirut later posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying Amani’s treatment was “progressing well”, adding the reports of his “physical condition and vision are false”.
Attacks were also reported in neighbouring Syria.
Hezbollah pledges ‘fair punishment’
Videos circulated online of men out and about – buying fruit or checking out at the grocery store – when a small explosion sends them tumbling to the ground and bystanders running from the detonation.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 200 people are in critical condition in some 150 hospitals. Most injuries were in the face, hands and stomach. People across the country described scenes of horror as the sound of explosions and screams of pain rang out in the streets.