‘Hundreds of Hezbollah Members Injured After Handheld Pagers Explode’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – At least hundreds of members of Hezbollah have been injured in southern Lebanon and the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after the handheld pagers they used to communicate exploded, Israeli and Arab sources say.
Some reports say more than 1,200 people were injured in the attack, including the Hezbollah supporters.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Israel has vowed to crack down on Hezbollah, which has fired a barrage of rockets into the Jewish nation, forcing thousands to evacuate.
On Monday, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said the only way to return Israel’s northern residents was through “military action” during a meeting with US envoy Amos Hochstein.
The events come hours after Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of 60,000 residents displaced in the north by Hezbollah attacks an official war goal.
“The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas and refuses to end the conflict,” a statement from his office said.
“The security cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include the following: Returning the residents of the north securely to their homes,” the prime minister’s office said. “Israel will continue to act to implement this objective.”
ESCALATING TENSIONS
Those tensions escalated Tuesday with witnesses seeing known Hezbollah members bleeding.
Lebanon’s state news agency said there were blasts in the southern suburbs of Beirut and several other areas.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV network also said many pagers had exploded without identifying those hurt.
Footage showed wounded men sitting or lying on floors and others being rushed to hospitals. There were also pictures of blasts in shops.
Hezbollah said it constituted the “biggest security breach yet” since hostilities with Israel escalated 11 months ago in parallel with the Gaza war.
That war was triggered by Hezbollah’s ally Hamas attacking Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others.
Hamas-linked authorities claim Israel’s military has since killed more than 41,000 Palestinians without differentiating between combatants and civilians. Israel’s government says nearly half of those killed are Hamas fighters.