The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that the Israeli airstrike, carried out on Monday (23.Sep.2024), caused the death of 182 people and injured another 727. Among the victims are children, women, and paramedics.
Targeting areas associated with Hezbollah, the offensive struck southern Lebanon. It came shortly after Israel ordered residents in the area to move away from weapons depots and sites linked to the extremist group.
The conflict between the Israelis and the extremist group began last week and escalated after the explosion of pagers in Lebanon. The bombing is thought to be the most extensive attack on territory since then.
Pager Explosions in Lebanon
A series of pager explosions on September 17 and 18 in Lebanon resulted in the deaths of 37 people. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah accuse Israel of being responsible for hacking the devices, which are used by members of the extremist group.
Pagers are devices used to receive alerts and short messages. They are still useful for communication in places because of their reliability, although the proliferation of cell phonesโand later smartphonesโhas reduced the circulation of the devices.
The use of the analog communicators was recommended by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February to avoid tracking by Israel. According to Qatar’s state-run Al Jazeera and Iran’s Ina, the devices contained explosive charges weighing less than 50 grams. The Lebanese government advised the public to immediately discard the devices.
In response to the explosions, Hezbollah launched 150 rockets into Israeli territory. Naim Qasem, the extremist, said on Sunday (September 22) that the war against the Israelis “has entered a new phase.”
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