Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is blaming Israel for a mass simultaneous detonation of pager devices that killed nine people and injured almost 3,000 others in Lebanon.
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00:00Unsuspecting shoppers browse through a supermarket in Lebanese capital Beirut
00:04when an explosion sends one man to the ground in pain and this wasn't an
00:11isolated scene. Through the southern suburbs of Lebanon chaos as thousands are
00:19rushed to hospital injured when handheld pages used by Hezbollah militants
00:24detonated in their hundreds all at the same time. The wave of blasts claimed the
00:30lives of nine people including that of an eight-year-old child.
00:54That death toll is expected to rise. Lebanese state media reported the pager
01:06devices used by Hezbollah members to communicate with each other exploded in
01:10several of the militant groups strongholds with civilians caught in the
01:15crossfire. Hezbollah officials say this attack is the biggest security breach
01:19they've experienced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel. Both Hezbollah and
01:24Lebanon placed blame on the neighboring country for the attack and the militant
01:28group has vowed retaliation.
01:32Israel has not commented. It's unknown how these pages were infiltrated but some
01:54cybersecurity analysts suggest they could have been tampered with during the
01:57manufacturing and shipping process allowing for a small explosive device to
02:02be planted on their batteries before delivery. It does appear that the pagers
02:07that exploded were acquired relatively recently by Hezbollah and I would not be
02:11surprised if they were tampered with prior to their having been delivered.
02:15Hezbollah officials say they're launching a major investigation into the
02:19attack but it's largely disabled the group's communication channels. This is
02:24widely being seen as a major escalation that could lead to a wider war in the
02:28Middle East after months of rising tensions. Hamas ally Hezbollah and Israel
02:35have traded daily blows since the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7. An
02:40attack of this scale, this breadth, would seem to suggest that Israel was either
02:45baiting Hezbollah into forcing the issue or into starting it itself. I mean there
02:52is no better way to start a full-blown conflict than to take you know 10-20% of
02:58the entire fighting force of Hezbollah off the battlefield and destroy the
03:02command and control and communications infrastructure. The US has called for a
03:07diplomatic solution adding the importance of securing a ceasefire deal
03:11in settling tensions. But as Lebanon reels from this latest attack on its
03:16soil fear is spreading across the Middle East. Anticipating Hezbollah's response
03:21and what further escalation could mean for the region. James Lynn and Rosie
03:26Greninger for Taiwan Plus