Hezbollah Pledges to Punish Israel for Deadly Pager Explosions in Lebanon

Nine people were confirmed dead, while 2,850 others were injured by a series of blasts which occurred because of handheld pagers in Lebanon on Tuesday, based on the Lebanese Health Ministry. Among the casualties were Hezbollah members and Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon. Hezbollah said it holds Israel responsible for the blasts and promised to respond to what it described as “Israeli aggression”. 

 The blasts happened in the Hezbollah-dominated regions of south Lebanon, Beirut’s southern outskirts and the eastern region of Bekaa Valley. Some of the attacks, videotaped in some cases, involved the use of camouflaged pagers, which exploded in these public areas to the detriment of some Hezbollah operatives and many people were also killed. Videos aired by regional television channels demonstrated one of the sequences, which occurred indoors – in a grocery shop. 

  Hezbollah’s Response and International Reaction 

 The Hezbollah leadership only condemned the attacks, singling out a senior official who said it was the group’s worst security failure since the resumption of clashes with Israel in October last. The militant group has been in the firing line with the Israeli military since the onset of the Gaza war, occasioned by the Hamas’ attack on Israel. Hezbollah members have stated that Israel shall receive ‘its fair punishment’ regarding the explosions, while Israel’s military has not addressed it. 

 This has been revealed by the New York-based Newspaper quoting American-based sources early this week saying that the explosive had been concealed in Taiwan-made pagers which were imported in Lebanon. The pagers that Hezbollah used as communication devices that are safe from eavesdropping by Israeli intelligence were reportedly booby-trapped for possible remote triggering. 

 The U. S. government reported that it had nothing to do with the attacks and reaffirmed its commitment to the political-diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. The United Nations also condemned this event. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert stated that the attack is a ‘worrisome escalation of the conflict’. 

 Casualties and Aftermath 

 A young girl and a few terrorists were among the killed, but two of Hezbollah’s terrorists were identified, including the son of one of the Hezbollah parliamentarians. They were broadcasting images of the remains of the destroyed Iranian refrigerator and underlining that Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon has been injured and staying under observation after the blasts were heard in Iran, the country’s media reports. 

 Media reports and eyewitness stories indicate that most hospitals in Lebanon received many injured people from the explosion sites. There were scenes of people running around frantically and those wounded being taken to various hospitals in ambulances while other people narrated hearing the screams of the injured. Hezbollah-linked healthcare facility in southern Lebanon has treated numerous casualties. They lost eyes and faces and hands. 

 Ongoing Conflict 

 This will, however, come less than two weeks after tensions between Hezbollah and Israel are reported to have escalated. It has also suffered more than 400 fatalities of its fighters, including commanders, in the recent one-year Israeli air raids. Although the group has stated that what it wants is not a total war against Israel, it implies that more conflict will prevail, even to a decisive point, until the Gaza conflict ends. 

 For its part, Israel has broadened the goals of the war. Israel wants to ensure the evacuation of Israeli citizens who have fled the border with Lebanon because of the continuing conflict with Hezbollah. However, the conflicts remain rather tense, suggesting a possibility of an increase in further escalation.