- The incident occurred 24 hours after the first simultaneous explosions of thousands of devices. Main photo: EFE
At least one person was killed and 100 injured in a new wave of explosions involving communication devices, known as pagers, reported on September 18 in Lebanon, the country’s Ministry of Public Health reported. The incident occurred 24 hours after several devices exploded.
The information was also confirmed by the Emergency Operations Center of the government department in a statement.
The National News Agency (ANN) reported the deaths of three people in one of the explosions in the town of Sahmar, in the Bekaa Valley, while it reported other incidents of the same type in Maryayoun (south), Hosh al Ghanam (east) and Tyre (south).
Explosions were also reported in the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahye, where a witness who requested anonymity confirmed to the EFE news agency how a low-intensity explosion shook a vehicle from which two passengers got out completely covered in blood.
Another witness said that several houses in that area caught fire. Authorities have stepped up security measures in the area and have deployed at least one drone to fly over the area.
“We are responding with 30 ambulance teams to multiple explosions in different areas, including southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley,” the Lebanese Red Cross said on its X account. It added that its staff are “on high alert” and “ready to intervene.”
The Lebanese army has also asked the population not to gather at the sites where the incidents have occurred, in order to allow the passage of medical teams.
The first attack
The paging devices were in the possession of the Hezbollah group. The first simultaneous explosion occurred on the morning of 17 September, killing 12 people and injuring 2,800 in the country.
Both Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities attribute these events to Israel, however, the authorities in that country have not acknowledged responsibility for the incident.
The Israeli army insisted on Wednesday, September 18, that it is prepared for “any mission” on the border with Lebanon, after the Hezbollah group swore “revenge” against Israel.
Fear of an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East
The international community has condemned the attack and expressed concern about the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
“In the context of growing tensions on the border between Lebanon and Israel, such irresponsible actions can lead to extremely dangerous consequences, as they provoke a new spiral of escalation,” Russian foreign minister Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry representative demanded that a comprehensive investigation be carried out into the incident and that all those responsible be punished.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the British Foreign Office said they continue to “closely monitor” the situation in Lebanon and urged “calm” and de-escalation at “this critical time.”
On September 17, the US government said it was not involved in the explosion of hundreds of beeper devices. It said it had no prior knowledge of the incident and avoided blaming Israel.
“It is imperative that everyone avoid taking any action that could escalate or extend the conflict,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in Cairo.
The UN response
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on September 18 that detonating thousands of paging devices without knowing who was in possession of the devices and in what surroundings they were used violates fundamental human rights standards.
“Simultaneously attacking thousands of people, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowing who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” he said.
Türk called for an independent, thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances of these massive explosions to hold those responsible accountable.
Lebanese Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corn said on Sept. 17 that the devices that exploded were part of a shipment that recently arrived in Lebanon and raised the possibility that they were activated remotely, although he said he did not yet know the details.
Corn said preliminary reports indicated that the batteries in the pagers had become too hot, leading some citizens to throw them away before they exploded.
Pagers, also known as pagers o beepersare devices used as a means of communication, since they prevent those who use them from being geolocated.
In early 2024, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah strictly limited the use of mobile phones, deeming them more vulnerable to Israeli surveillance.
These types of devices, which became obsolete with the advent of cell phones, are low-tech wireless devices that receive alphanumeric, bidirectional messages, with the ability to send and receive short texts.
Pagers became popular in the 1980s and 1990s, but Hezbollah members use them not only to avoid being tracked, but also because they are less susceptible to interception and work in low-coverage areas.
With information from EFE.
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2024-09-19 16:47:10