MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. The mass explosion of Hezbollah members’ pagers and other communications devices on Lebanon is more likely to be caused by implanted explosives than a hack, Former NSA (National Security Agency) employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden said.
"As information coms in about the exploding beepers in Lebanon, it seems now more likely than not to be implanted explosives, not a hack. Why? Too many consistent, very serious injuries. If it were overheated batteries exploding, you’d expect many more small fires & misfires," he wrote on his X page.
He blamed Israel for this, slamming its actions as reckless, bordering on terrorism.
According to earlier reports, pager explosions occurred almost simultaneously across Lebanon. The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah placed responsibility for the blasts on Israel and warned about a "fair retaliation." It was initially suggested that the detonations had been a result of a cyberattack. Reuters, however, said that the pagers were brought to Lebanon for Hezbollah members during several recent months. Lebanese acting Health Minister Firass Abiad said that the blasts claimed at least eight lives and left around 2,800 injured. Hezbollah placed responsibility for the blasts on Israel and warned about "fair retaliation." The Lebanese government also blamed the Israeli side, slamming the incident as a "criminal aggression." Israel has provided no comments on the incident so far.