Beirut, Lebanon.- Lebanon’s Iran-backed Islamist movement Hezbollah blamed Israel for Tuesday’s beeper blasts that killed at least nine people and injured thousands more, vowing that the operation would be “justly punished.”
“The Israeli enemy bears full responsibility for this criminal aggression,” the powerful organisation said in a statement, adding that Israel “will undoubtedly receive its just punishment.”
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said that “nine people were killed and some 2,750 were injured” in the explosion of beepers belonging to members of the Islamist movement. According to the minister, most of the victims had injuries “on the face, hand, stomach and even eyes.”
Hezbollah said the dead included two of its members and a 10-year-old girl.
Among the wounded was Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, Islamic Republic Television reported, adding that the diplomat was out of danger. Pagers are small messaging and location devices that do not require a SIM card or internet connection. The explosions occurred just hours after Israel announced that it was extending the war’s objectives, which until now have focused on the fight against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, to its border with Lebanon.
#Hezbollah #accuses #Israel #beeper #explosions
