The death toll from the exploding pagers that injured thousands of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon has risen to 12, including two young children, Lebanese authorities said Wednesday — as the terrorist group warned Israel to brace for “harsh punishment” over the massacre.
Nearly 3,000 people were left wounded when the hand-held devices started exploding nearly simultaneously Tuesday afternoon in a deadly attack that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have blamed on “Israeli aggression.”
The injured included Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, who suffered serious head injuries and lost an eye, according to Iranian state-run news outlet al-Mehr.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, quickly vowed to retaliate against Israel over the sophisticated, remote blasts, saying Wednesday it would continue its normal strikes to support Hamas in its war against the Jewish state.
“This is another reckoning that will come, God willing.”
The attack unfolded when the pagers started heating up and exploding in their owners’ hands or pockets in the southern Lebanon suburbs of Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley, which are all Hezbollah strongholds.
The majority of those hit were members or linked to members of Hezbollah — whether fighters or civilians.
Dozens gathered Wednesday in the village of Nadi Sheet to mourn Fatima Abdullah, a 9-year-old girl said to be one of two kids killed in the attacks — with her mother still proudly wearing a yellow Hezbollah scarf in support of the terror group.
It wasn’t clear if Amani, the Iranian ambassador, was carrying his own pager or was injured when someone’s nearby device detonated, state media said.
Lebanon Health Minister Firas Abiad told journalists during a tour of several hospitals in Beirut early Wednesday that many of the wounded had severe injuries to the eyes, while others had limbs amputated.
Israel allegedly hid explosive material in the Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were imported to Lebanon, the New York Times reported, citing US and other officials briefed on the operation.
The material was implanted next to the battery with a switch that could be triggered remotely to detonate.
The exploding pagers were detonated by a message impersonating the leaders of the group Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
In the aftermath, a Hezbollah official described the incident as the “biggest security breach” for the group in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
The US has said it was not involved in the explosions and doesn’t know who was responsible.
A company based in Hungary was responsible for manufacturing the pagers, another firm whose brand was used on the devices said Wednesday.
