By Patrick Kingsley, Euan Ward and Ronen Bergman
Hundreds of pagers blew up at the same time across Lebanon and in some parts of Syria on Tuesday in an apparently coordinated attack that targeted members of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in the region, Lebanese and Hezbollah officials said.
The attack came a day after Israeli leaders had warned that they were considering stepping up their military campaign against Hezbollah, which has been firing on northern Israel since last year in solidarity with Hamas and its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip. Several independent experts said it looked highly likely that Israel was behind the attack.
Hezbollah accused Israel of orchestrating the attack Tuesday and vowed to retaliate for what it called “blatant aggression.” The Israeli military declined to comment.
The wave of explosions left many people in Beirut in a state of confusion and shock. Witnesses reported smoke coming from people’s pockets, followed by small blasts that sounded like fireworks or gunshots. Amateur footage broadcast on Lebanese television showed chaotic scenes at hospitals, as wounded patients with mangled hands and mutilated faces sought treatment. Sirens blared throughout the city.
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, characterized the attack as “criminal Israeli aggression” and called it “a serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”
Here is what else to know:
— Thousands injured: Lebanon’s health minister, Dr. Firass Abiad, said at least eight people had been killed and more than 2,700 others injured, with about 200 in critical condition. Abiad said many of the victims had injuries to their faces, particularly the eyes, as well as to their hands and stomachs. One of those killed was an 8-year-old girl, he said.
— Hezbollah’s pagers targeted: Three officials briefed on the attack said the operation had targeted hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah operatives who have used such devices for years to make it harder for their messages to be intercepted. The use of pagers had became even more widespread after the Oct. 7 attacks, when Hezbollah’s chief warned that Israeli intelligence had penetrated the cellphone network, security experts said. The devices were programmed to beep for several seconds before exploding, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
— Escalating conflict: The blasts appeared to be the latest salvo in an 11-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began last October, after Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia, began firing into Israeli territory in solidarity with its ally, Hamas, which is also backed by Iran. The conflict has largely remained contained to exchanges of missiles and rockets, but for months, leaders on either side have warned that it could expand into a war involving ground forces.
— Assassination attempt: On Tuesday afternoon, before the pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria, the Israeli military had accused Hezbollah of attempting to assassinate a retired senior member of the country’s security services with an explosive device that could be remotely detonated from Lebanon. The same operatives were behind a similar attempted attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, last year, the military said.
— The victims: The son of a Hezbollah lawmaker, Ali Ammar, was among those killed in the blasts, and Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, suffered injuries to his hand and face when a pager he was carrying exploded, according to Iranian state media reports.
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