The harrowing day began when Civil Defense teams rushed to aid a man injured by his exploding pager in Sidon, Lebanon, on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
Just a day after Hezbollah-linked pagers detonated, a secondary onslaught hit Beirut and other areas in Lebanon on Wednesday. State media and Hezbollah officials reported that this new wave targeted walkie-talkies and solar gear. The Health Ministry confirmed the second wave’s tragic toll—20 fatalities and more than 450 wounded.
These attacks, purportedly by Israel and aimed at crippling Hezbollah, have tragically impacted civilians, ramping up fears of the two adversaries slipping into full-scale war.
Addressing Israeli troops on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared, “A new phase in this conflict demands bravery, resolve, and tenacity.” Gallant didn’t mention the device explosions but lauded the performances of Israel’s military and security bodies, saying, “The results are highly commendable.”
The funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child—victims of the previous day’s pager explosions—was marred by fresh blasts, as reported by Associated Press journalists present. In Sidon, an AP photographer saw damage to a car and a mobile phone shop following device detonations. Additionally, a girl sustained injuries when a solar energy system exploded at her home, state news said.
The nation was still reeling from the chaos and grief of Tuesday’s pager bombings, which left at least 12 dead, including two children, and approximately 2,800 injured.
This second wave has amplified worries over collateral damage. The blasts occurred wherever the pager users happened to be—indoors, in vehicles, at shops, or cafés, often surrounded by family or others.
Even though pagers were Hezbollah’s modus operandi, their indiscriminate nature meant that many non-combatants, involved in Hezbollah’s extensive civil roles, were among the victims.
Tuesday’s carnage included two health workers. Those caught in the explosions were doctors, nurses, paramedics, charity staff, teachers, and office workers linked to Hezbollah, hundreds of whom carried such devices.
Mary Ellen O’Connell, from the University of Notre Dame, highlighted the illegality of such booby-traps, stressing, “Weaponizing civilian objects is explicitly forbidden under international law.” The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, demanded an independent probe, acknowledging the profound terror caused.
An emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Lebanon’s crisis was scheduled for Friday, at Algeria’s behest.
Hezbollah, Lebanon’s mightiest armed faction, has clashed with Israel’s military nearly every day since October 8, following a brutal Hamas-led incursion in southern Israel. The ensuing war has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides and displaced tens of thousands.
Wednesday saw Hezbollah conducting three strikes on northern Israel, with one occurring after the latest explosions in Lebanon.
Israel has signaled potential escalations against Hezbollah in recent weeks, advocating for a cessation of hostilities to resume normalcy along the border. An anonymous official noted Israel bolstered troop presence near its border with Lebanon on Wednesday.
Gallant remarked that after enduring months of conflict with Hamas in Gaza, resources and focus are shifting northward.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened with top security personnel in Tel Aviv, while the army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, mentioned contingency plans for further operations against Hezbollah. Israeli media reported no definitive governmental decision on a significant offensive in Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to address this turmoil in a major speech on Thursday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated that the implications of the Lebanese attacks on Israel-Hamas ceasefire efforts are still being evaluated.
Experts infer Israel meticulously rigged hundreds of pagers with explosives, infiltrating Hezbollah’s supply chain—a hypothesis yet to be substantiated. Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese manufacturer, stated it authorized BAC Consulting KFT in Hungary to use its name on devices destined for Hezbollah, although a Hungarian spokesman clarified the pagers never actually transited through Hungary.
Hungarian national security confirmed active cooperation with global partners, via a statement from spokesman Zoltán Kovács on Wednesday.
While Lebanon grieved Tuesday’s victims, more blasts struck near a funeral for fighters and a child in Beirut’s south. Despite the carnage, senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine urged mourners to stand firm against Israeli aggression.
Israeli drones buzzed overhead, a persistent presence over Beirut and other Lebanese regions, as thousands joined a funeral procession, carrying the coffins to burial grounds.
One woman, who gave her name as Um Hussein and stood with her children, declared, “We won’t lose hope or surrender; we’ll continue as long as there’s life in us.”
A Hezbollah insider revealed that walkie-talkies detonated in several regions on Wednesday, speaking anonymously due to authorization limits. Solar energy systems also exploded in various Beirut and southern locations, injuring at least one girl.
In Nabi Sheet, a Bekaa Valley village, crowds mourned 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, another victim of the pager blasts. Gathered around the little girl’s coffin before her burial, her mother, in black and wearing a yellow Hezbollah scarf, was inconsolable.
