Where did the attacks take place?
Explosions rocked the country’s capital city of Beirut, as well as other cities like Sidon. Beginning at 3:45 pm local time, a series of explosions lasting about an hour claimed at least eight lives.
What caused the explosions?
Reports suggest that the blasts were carried out by members of the Hezbollah, using electronic devices, primarily pagers. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, with some victims suffering severe injuries to their hands and limbs.
What are pagers?
Pagers or beepers, are communications devices that were predominantly used in the 1980s to send and receive alphanumeric texts. Medical professionals continue to use the devices in some places, while the Hezbollah is also reported to be using them for internal communication, due to them being harder to trace.
What happened?
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from people’s pockets, followed by small blasts that sounded like fireworks or gunshots. Amateur footage broadcast on Lebanese television showed chaotic scenes at hospitals, as wounded patients with mangled hands and burn injuries sought treatment. Sirens blared throughout the city as the day ended.
What is the Hezbollah saying?
The Iranian-backed group has placed the blame on Israel – with whom tensions have been high since October last year, when the Hezbollah began firing into Israeli territory in solidarity with its ally, Hamas. The group has vowed Israel will be punished for the attacks on Tuesday. “We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” the group said in a statement reported Reuters, adding that Israel “will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression”.
What did Israel do?
Israel announced on Tuesday that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in northern Israel has become a formal war objective, according to an AP report. This new focus aims to facilitate the safe return of displaced residents and is part of a broader consideration of a more extensive military operation that could escalate into a full-scale regional conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli military has not commented since the attack.
Lebanon’s response
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, characterized the attack as “criminal Israeli aggression” and called it “a serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty.” Three officials briefed on the attack said it had targeted hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah operatives who have used such devices for years to make it harder for their messages to be intercepted. The devices were programmed to beep for several seconds before exploding, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, the New York Times reported.
With inputs from Reuters, AP and NYT
