2024 Lebanon pager explosions
| File:Trump Netanyahu pager.png In February 2025, in what could be interpreted as either gloating or a threat to the rest of the world, Netanyahu gave President Donald Trump a golden pager mounted on a slice of wood. | |
| Date | 17 September 2024 - 18 September 2024 |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 37 |
| Injured (non-fatal) | 3,458 |
| Description | In 2024 Israel detonated thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies across Lebanon and Syria. |
The 2024 Lebanon pager explosions took place on 17 and 18 September 2024, when Israel detonated thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies across Lebanon and Syria. Israeli intelligence services Mossad had manufactured the devices, integrated the explosive PETN into the batteries, and sold them to Hezbollah through a shell company. As of 19 September 2024, 37 people had died, including two children.[1]
The first wave of explosions occurred on 17 September, around 15:30 EEST, killing at least 12 people, including two Hezbollah members and two children, and wounding more than 2,750, including Iran's ambassador to Lebanon. The second wave occurred on 18 September, killing at least 25 people and injuring 708. Devices targeted in the first wave were pagers, while in the second they were ICOM walkie-talkies.
The explosions occurred in several areas of Lebanon with a Hezbollah presence, including Beirut's Dahieh suburb, southern Lebanon, and the Beqaa Valley near the Syrian border. Explosions were also reported in several locations in Syria. Chaotic scenes were reported at the 150 hospitals across Lebanon that received victims of the explosions. Hezbollah vowed to retaliate.
Following the explosions, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "new phase" of the war against the Axis of Resistance, with a focus on northern Israel, which borders Lebanon.[2]
Paul Nakasone, former head of the NSA commented that "A major concern now is how those types of hijacks could end up inside U.S. consumer products or devices".[3]
References
Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
