Iran accuses Israel of causing the explosion of pagers in Lebanon and perpetrating a ‘massacre’

The Islamist regime in Iran accused Israel of carrying out "a massacre" by exploding pagers used by members of the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon. The country's authorities reported at least nine dead and around 3,000 wounded, 200 of them seriously.

In statements reported by AFP, Naser Kanani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, defined the electronic attack allegedly committed by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu as a "massacre," describing it as a "terrorist act perpetrated by the Zionist regime."

Hezbollah also blamed Israel for the attack, adding that it is the "biggest counter-intelligence failure" the terrorist group has had in "decades."

At the moment, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hezbollah will continue to attack Israel

Apart from accusing Netanyahu’s government, Hezbollah confirmed that it will continue attacking Israelis and will continue fighting inside the Gaza Strip.

"The Islamic resistance in Lebanon will continue, as in all previous days, its operations to support Gaza, its people and its resistance, and to defend Lebanon, its people and its sovereignty," the terrorist group said, in a statement reported by AFP.

In addition, Hezbollah vowed there will be "a harsh reckoning" against Israel for the "massacre" in Lebanon.

What are pagers and how did they explode?

Pagers are small portable devices that served for people to communicate before smartphones and social media. When they began to be manufactured, they were larger, although manufacturers gradually reduced their dimensions as they became more popular.

These devices were usually carried in one’s pocket or clipped to a belt. If someone wanted to contact the owner of a pager, they had to call a center, where they were attended by an operator, and leave a message and a telephone number. From that center, the message was sent to the target device, which beeped and displayed the message on a small screen.

According to sources from the terrorist group in statements reported by The Wall Street Journal, the whoever was behind the attack installed "malware" in the pagers that could have been the cause of the massive explosion. The alkaline or lithium batteries they carry need to be replaced every so often, so those that were already in poor condition helped power the blasts.