Hamas…Israel Conflict Day 343…Part #2…More on the Hezbollah Pager attack..

Hundred’s of pages with several ouches of explosives…..

The Hezbollah cellphone network compromised by Israel….

Asymmetrical warfare on BOTH sides….

• Thousands injured: Officials said that the death toll had risen to 11 people. Hezbollah said at least eight of its fighters had been killed. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said that a young girl was also among those killed and that more than 2,700 others were injured. Lebanon’s health minister, Dr. Firass Abiad, said many of the victims had injuries to their faces, particularly the eyes, as well as to their hands and stomachs. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, suffered injuries to his hand and face when a pager he was carrying exploded, according to Iranian state news media reports.

• Hezbollah’s pagers targeted: Three officials briefed on the attack said that the operation 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 use of pagers had became even more widespread after the Oct. 7 attacks, when Hezbollah’s chief warned that Israeli intelligence had penetrated the cellphone network, security experts said. 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.

• Escalating conflict: The blasts appeared to be the latest salvo in an 11-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began last October, after Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia, began firing into Israeli territory in solidarity with its ally, Hamas, which is also backed by Iran. The conflict has largely remained contained to exchanges of missiles and rockets, but for months, leaders on either side have warned that it could expand into a war involving ground forces.

• Assassination attempt: On Tuesday afternoon, before the pager explosions in Lebanon, the Israeli military had accused Hezbollah of attempting to assassinate a retired senior member of the country’s security services with an explosive device that could be remotely detonated from Lebanon. The same operatives were behind a similar attempted attack in Tel Aviv last year, the military said.

• Syrian attacks: In Syria, at least 14 people were injured by pager explosions in the apparently coordinated attack on Hezbollah, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor.

• Pager danger: Lebanon’s health ministry has put all hospitals in Lebanon on “maximum alert,” and has requested citizens to discard their pagers….

More…

Israel simultaneously detonated thousands of pagers used by Lebanese Hezbollah members across Lebanon and Syria on September 17. Lebanese officials reported that around 2,800 individuals were injured, though some reports suggest that the number is closer to 4,000, most of whom are Hezbollah members. Israel reportedly executed the attack by planting one-to-two ounces of explosive material and remote triggers inside a batch of Taiwanese-made pagers en route to Lebanon. Hezbollah had ordered the pagers to communicate across its ranks, as Hezbollah Secretary General ordered group members to limit cellphone usage in order to avoid Israeli detection. Hezbollah responded to the attack by blaming Israel and vowing to retaliate.