Israel behind Lebanon pager attack in joint Mossad-IDF operation

 

Israel behind Lebanon pager attack in joint Mossad-IDF operation

A person is carried on a stretcher outside American University of Beirut Medical Center as people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded and killed when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, according to a security source, in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday, September 17. 

Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

Israel was behind the attack that caused thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members to simultaneously explode in Lebanon on Tuesday, CNN has learned.

The operation, which left thousands injured across Lebanon, was the result of a joint operation between Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, and the Israeli military.

Israel placed explosive material in a batch of Taiwanese-made pagers which were imported into Lebanon and destined for Hezbollah, the New York Times reported, citing American and other officials briefed on the operation.

How it happened: The explosives were planted next to the battery in each pager, and a switch embedded to detonate them remotely, according to the New York Times. The devices detonated simultaneously after receiving a message on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 9 people and injuring more than 2,800 — including at least 170 of whom were in critical condition, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have blamed Israel for the attack. Israel has not commented.