Turkey thwarted another attack with pagers in Lebanon last year, officials say

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s quality work thwarted a distant onslaught utilizing pagers past twelvemonth successful Lebanon, days aft akin attacks by Israel killed dozens and wounded thousands, including members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, a Turkish regular and officials said Tuesday.

Daily Sabah reported that 1,300 pagers and 710 chargers rigged with explosives were confiscated wrong a cargo shipment astatine Istanbul Airport that was connected its mode to Beirut from Hong Kong.

A Turkish information official, speaking connected information of anonymity successful enactment with regulations, confirmed the study but would not supply further details.

In Beirut, Hezbollah’s main spokesperson Youssef el-Zein told The Associated Press Tuesday that days aft the Sept. 17 pagers onslaught successful Lebanon and Syria, Hezbollah informed Turkish quality that a shipment of pagers was successful Turkey and astir to beryllium sent to Lebanon.

El-Zein said Turkish authorities confiscated the pagers and astir apt destroyed them. He had nary further details.

The Israeli subject did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the report.

Israel triggered the Sept. 17 onslaught erstwhile pagers each implicit Lebanon started beeping. The devices exploded adjacent if a idiosyncratic carrying 1 failed to propulsion buttons to work an incoming encrypted message.

The adjacent day, Israel activated walkie-talkies, immoderate of which exploded astatine funerals for immoderate of the radical who were killed successful the pager attacks.

The attacks marked a large escalation successful the Israel-Hezbollah warfare that started aft Hamas launched its onslaught connected confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the ongoing warfare successful the Gaza Strip. Although the Lebanon onslaught struck galore Hezbollah members, civilians were besides killed oregon wounded. At slightest 37 radical were killed, including 2 children, and immoderate 3,000 were wounded successful the two-day explosions.

Daily Sabah said that acting connected a extremity that a shipment of pager devices would beryllium successful Istanbul to beryllium delivered to Lebanon 2 days aft the attacks, Turkish quality agents launched an operation.

The paper said that authorities discovered a shipment that arrived successful Istanbul from Hong Kong 1 time earlier the Lebanon explosions. The cargo had 61 boxes and was scheduled to depart from Istanbul to Beirut connected Sept. 27 done Istanbul Airport. The cargo was described arsenic a shipment of nutrient choppers, Daily Sabah said. Inside, authorities recovered 1,300 Gold Apollo marque pagers and 710 desktop chargers.

After the pagers attack, Israel expanded the warfare against Hezbollah with strikes that killed astir 500 radical connected Sept. 23, forcing hundreds of thousands to fly their homes. On Sept. 27, Israeli airstrikes connected a confederate suburb of Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's person and 1 of its founding members, successful the biggest stroke for the Iran-backed group.

The warfare ended connected Nov. 27, erstwhile a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect.

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Mroue reported from Beirut.