By Mohammad Sio
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad planted explosives in the batteries of pager devices that detonated Tuesday in Lebanon, killing nine people and injuring hundreds, according to media reports.
The Sky News Arabia channel, citing exclusive sources, said the communication devices had fallen into Israeli hands before reaching the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
“Mossad managed to intercept Hezbollah’s communication devices before they were delivered to the group,” the sources told the channel.
The sources noted that the spy agency “rigged a quantity of the highly explosive material pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) in the devices' batteries, which were detonated by increasing the batteries’ temperature.”
At least nine people including a child were killed in a mass explosion of the pagers in areas across Lebanon, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad.
He added that around 2,750 people were also injured, including 200 in critical condition.
Lebanese media suggested that the devices exploded after an Israeli breach of the communication system.
A source close to Hezbollah told Agence France-Presse that the pagers involved in the explosions were part of a shipment of 1,000 devices recently imported by the group, which appears to have been compromised at the exporter.
Hezbollah confirmed that at least two of its members were killed and many injured in the mass explosion and held Israel fully responsible for the incident, vowing a “just retaliation from unexpected quarters.”
Israel remained mum, with the Prime Minister's Office distancing itself from a now-deleted social media post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former top aide and spokesperson Topaz Luk, which hinted at Israeli responsibility for the attacks.
The mass explosion came amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel against the backdrop of a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,200 people, mostly women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.