CCTV News
On the afternoon of the 17th local time, during the ministerial meeting of the caretaker government of Lebanon, pager explosions occurred in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and many places in southeast and northeast Lebanon. Lebanon's public health minister, Abjad, said the explosion had killed nine people and injured about 2,800, about 200 of them in critical condition.
The Lebanon Allah party issued a statement arguing that Israel was "fully responsible" for the pager explosion and vowed to retaliate. In addition, the caretaker government of Lebanon also condemned the incident on the same day.
The pager may be remotely detonated or manipulated
The Lebanon Allah party issued a statement saying that a pager used by some members of the group exploded and that some Allah party members were killed in the explosion.
It is reported that pagers have recently been more commonly used by Lebanon Allah Party fighters to avoid Israel tracking their location through such low-tech communication equipment. The paging machine explosions were mainly concentrated in the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, which are believed to be the Lebanon Allah strongholds.
According to Lebanon media, the batteries of these pagers were remotely detonated. However, some safety experts have questioned whether the explosion of the pager battery can cause such casualties.
In an interview with the main station, military expert Du Wenlong said that there is a possibility that the pager is remotely controlled -- the pager is implanted with virus software, so that the software has the ability to kill hard, and through the virus software, the equipment is not operating normally, causing overheating, too fast, overload, etc., causing hardware damage.
Allah claimed Israel fully responsible for the bombing
After verifying the available information, Allah believes that Israel is fully responsible for a series of pager bombings in various parts of Lebanon and that Israel will be punished for it. Allah said it was conducting a "safe and scientific investigation" into the cause of the explosion.
Other media outlets, citing anonymous Lebanese Allah officials, reported that the bombing was the group's "biggest security breach" in its nearly year-long conflict with Israel.
Statement by the Lebanese Caretaker Government: Condemning Israel's acts of aggression
It is reported that the explosion occurred during a ministerial meeting of the caretaker government of Lebanon. After the bombing, the Council of Ministers of the caretaker government of Lebanon issued a collective statement "condemning Israel's acts of aggression" and stressing that Israel's actions "constitute a serious violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and constitute a crime." In addition, the Lebanon Foreign Ministry said that the Lebanon government is ready to file a lawsuit with the UN Security Council in response to the bombing.
According to Iran's official news agency IRNA, Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was slightly injured in the bombing and is currently in good condition.
The government met to discuss countermeasures, but did not respond to the bombing
So far, Israel officials have not commented on the incident. However, according to a number of Israel media reports, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant held a security assessment meeting in Tel Aviv on the 17th. An unnamed Israel government official told the media that the security review meeting focused on Israel's response to a possible escalation of tensions caused by the Lebanon bombing. Israel's top military leadership stressed offensive and defensive readiness in all areas. At this stage, the guidelines for civilians have not changed, and citizens need to be vigilant.
Reactions from all sides
United States State Council: The United States was not involved in the Lebanon pager bombing
△ United States State Department spokesman Matthew · Miller
On September 17, local time, United States State Department spokesman Matthew · Miller said at a briefing on the same day that United States was collecting relevant information about the Lebanon pager explosion and stressed that United States was not involved. Miller also said United States did not assess who might be behind the pager bombing.
The Foreign Minister of Iran condemned the terrorist acts against Lebanese citizens
On the 17th local time, after pager explosions occurred in many places in Lebanon, Iran Foreign Minister Aragerhi had a telephone conversation with Lebanon Foreign Minister Habib. Al-Araghhi strongly condemns the terrorist acts perpetrated by Israel against the citizens of Lebanon.
△ Iran Foreign Minister Aragerhi
In addition, he expressed his condolences to the Government of Lebanon and the families of the victims of the bombing, and expressed Iran's readiness to provide necessary medical treatment and assistance to the injured. He noted that the Iran ambassador to Lebanon was injured in the bombing, and while thanking the Lebanon government for its immediate treatment measures, he also asked the ambassador for the latest treatment. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lebanon expressed his gratitude to Iran for its willingness to help Lebanon and stressed the serious follow-up by the Government of Lebanon to the incident.
The Government of Jordan telegraphed Lebanon and offered to help
On the 17th local time, Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs of the Jordan Government, had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Najib · Mikati, Prime Minister of the Lebanon caretaker government. Safadi conveyed instructions from King Abdullah II of Jordan to Mikati expressing Jordan's readiness to provide any necessary medical assistance to the Lebanon medical sector to help treat citizens injured in the pager bombings in various parts of Lebanon.
Safadi reaffirmed Jordan's support for Lebanon's security, sovereignty and stability and stood with the Lebanon people, and stressed the need to prevent the escalation of the situation in the region. Mikati thanked Jordan for its assistance and expressed Lebanon's high appreciation for Jordan's consistent position in supporting the Lebanon people, security and stability.
Foreign Minister of Egypt: There is a danger of escalation and a full-scale war in the Middle East
On the 17th local time, Egypt Foreign Minister Abdul Ati warned that there is a danger of escalation of the regional situation in the Middle East and falling into a full-scale regional war. He stressed that dangerous developments were taking place in southern Lebanon and that the Middle East region was at a dangerous turning point as a result of irresponsible and reckless unilateral actions, which would cast a shadow over regional stability.
That evening, Abdul Ati had telephone calls with Prime Minister Mikati and Foreign Minister Habib of the caretaker Government of Lebanon to follow up on the subsequent developments in the Lebanon pager bombing that day. During the call, Abdul Ati made the warning.
Egypt Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim said in a statement issued on the same day that Egypt attaches importance to the security and stability of the Lebanon, opposes any violation of its sovereignty by any external forces, and Egypt is willing to provide all possible support to Lebanon in this critical situation.