On September 18, 2024, explosions from Hezbollah's pagers in Beirut resulted in at least 12 deaths and 3,000 injuries. This unprecedented security breach raises the prospect of full-scale war between the Iran-backed group and Israel.
#### Background of the Explosions
Prior to the explosions, Hezbollah ordered 5,000 pagers several months ago, manufactured by a European company called BAC. Reports indicate that Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, planted explosives inside these pagers, which were imported by Hezbollah months before the detonations. Among the injured were many fighters from Hezbollah and Iran's envoy to Beirut.
#### Hezbollah's Promise of Retaliation
Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel, with Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah calling this incident the group's "biggest security breach" in its history. The organization intends to continue supporting Hamas in Gaza and warned Israel to expect a response to this "massacre."
#### International Reactions
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has accused Israel of pushing the Middle East to the brink of regional war. Since the Gaza conflict began last October, both sides have been engaged in cross-border warfare, escalating fears of a wider conflict in the region.
#### Technical Analysis
According to sources, the explosives were embedded in the pagers in a way that made them difficult to detect. When a coded message was sent to the pagers, they detonated simultaneously. Some security sources indicated that the new pagers contained approximately three grams of explosives, which went "undetected" by Hezbollah.
These explosions and their aftermath have created new tensions in the Middle Eastern security landscape, drawing international attention to the situation.