Lebanese girl becomes most notable victim of pager blasts
BEIRUT
Lebanese social media users extensively shared the name and images of Fatima Jaafar Abdullah on Tuesday, making her the most notable victim of wireless pager explosions that rocked the country.
Fatima, 10, was killed when a pager device exploded near her at her family’s home in the town of Saraain in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, according to an Anadolu reporter.
At least nine people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of the devices in areas across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad.
He said 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.
Both Hezbollah and the health minister confirmed the death of a girl in their respective statements and press conference without mentioning her name or further details.
Among the nine confirmed fatalities, only Fatima and Mohammad Mahdi Ammar, the son of Ali Ammar, a member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, have been identified.
There is currently no information on whether any children are among the injured.
Hezbollah confirmed that at least two members were killed and many injured in the mass explosion and held Israel fully responsible for the incident, vowing “just retaliation from unexpected quarters.
Israel has remained mum, with the Prime Minister’s Office distancing itself from a now-deleted social media post by Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisor, Topaz Luk, which hinted at Israeli responsibility for the attacks.
The mass explosions 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.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio
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