Surgeons in Lebanon have exposed the litany of horrific injuries they have witnessed among the almost 3,000 people whose pagers exploded in a suspected Israeli attack on members of Hezbollah.
The pagers, believed to have been booby-trapped by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency prior to their delivery earlier this year, detonated yesterday after receiving a coded message.
The devices vibrated and beeped for several seconds prior to the explosion, a feature that experts say was likely designed by the aggressor to ensure the owner was holding the device so as to cause maximum damage.
Dozens of targets sustained severe facial injuries, with doctors explaining how they were forced to cut out victims’ eyeballs. Others had their hands blown off, or suffered gaping wounds in their abdomen had they concealed the pager on their hip.
Professor Elias Warrak, an ophthalmologist at Mount Lebanon University Hospital in Beirut, told the BBC he had never had to remove so many eyes in his 25-year-career, describing the experience as a ‘nightmare’.
‘Most of the patients were young men in their twenties and in some cases I had to remove both eyes,’ he said, adding that he operated until 4am Wednesday morning and still had more patients to treat when he returned a few hours later.
At least 12 people are confirmed dead, including at least two children – one girl aged eight and an 11-year-old boy – according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad.
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