In an attack attributed to Israel on Tuesday, September 17, nine people, including a young girl, were killed in Lebanon and 2,800 others were injured in the space of just a few minutes. Simultaneously, pagers, communications devices that are not connected to the telephone network and used by Hezbollah fighters to avoid detection, exploded. Most of the victims were Hezbollah members.
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At the emergency room of Geitaoui University Hospital, ambulances follow one another in a heavy atmosphere, notes our correspondent in Beirut, Sophie Guignon. ” We are in constant communication with the Ministry of Health. We have received critical cases since the explosions. We are full, the operating rooms are saturated, the emergency rooms are overloaded with patients in critical condition. “, laments Naji Abi Rached, the medical director of the establishment. Faced with the influx of wounded, hospitals have appealed to blood donors throughout the country.
The health sector, already severely tested by the crisis hitting the Lebanon for years, has nevertheless withstood the shock well. Doctors and nurses have responded to the authorities’ call to manage the sudden and simultaneous arrival of nearly 3,000 injured people in the emergency room. Most of the injured have injuries to the stomach, hands and face. Two hundred of them are in critical condition and dozens have lost their sight.
At the entrance to the hospital, Bilal Menhem, mayor of the town of Sohmor in the Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold, has just learned of the death of his son, Abbas, 28, who was carrying a pager. I came here, I didn’t know if my son was dead or not. But my son is a hero who died as a martyr for Lebanon. He died in support of the oppressed in Gaza. It is an honor that he fell as a martyr against the greatest oppressors in this world. “, testifies Bilal Menhem. Bilal, like the Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah, points the finger Israel behind this massive attack, in a context of increased tensions along the border between Lebanon and the Hebrew state.
Lebanon in shock
The Lebanese population is in shock. There is great shock, anger and much concern about what will happen next, especially since Hezbollah has accused Israel of being behind this unprecedented attack and has promised to retaliate, our correspondent in Beirut said. Paul Khalifeh.
The scale of the event prompted the government to suspend classes this Wednesday, September 18 in schools and universities and to close public administrations. For the authorities, this is a ” criminal assault ” equated to a war crime and Beirut intends to file a complaint against Israel at the UN Security Council.
Most of the injured are members of Hezbollah’s military corps and many of them are out of service permanently or for a certain time. Beyond the toll, it is a whole part of Hezbollah’s telecommunications system, the heart of the war, which is compromised. This attack raises questions about the vulnerability of Hezbollah’s security protocols Hezbollah and on the existence of breaches and infiltration within the formation. Despite this, the military capabilities of Hassan Nasrallah’s party, which has tens of thousands of fighters, remain significant and its willingness to fight with Israel does not seem affected, at least for the moment. The leader of the movement is to speak this Thursday, Hezbollah announced.
Also readIsrael managed to hide explosives in Hezbollah pagers, New York Times reports