Chaos at hospital entrances and in streets in Lebanon after simultaneous explosions of communication devices
Lebanese paramedics treated the wounded in the garage of a hospital in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, while others rushed to donate blood after Simultaneous explosions of communication devices.
Communication devices exploded simultaneously in several Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, which resulted in… Lebanese Ministry of Health Nine people were killed and about 2,800 others were injured.
Hezbollah, backed by Iran, blamed the explosions on Israel, with which it has been engaged in cross-border shelling for about a year, “in support” of Hamas, whose attack on October 7 sparked the current war in Gaza.
In a hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs, eyewitnesses reported seeing people being treated in a garage with medical gloves strewn on the floor and ambulance stretchers stained with blood.
In another hospital in the same area, an AFP correspondent saw a person with wounds to the face, eye and hand, another with an injury to the waist and a third receiving treatment in a car.
“In my entire life, I have never seen someone walking in the street… and then explode,” said Moussa, a resident of Beirut’s southern suburbs who asked not to be identified.
“My wife and I were on our way to the doctor when I saw people lying on the ground in front of me,” he continued, noting that “people did not know what was happening.”
The sudden and large-scale explosions caused chaos in the country, and shocking videos were posted on social media showing people bleeding and injured at waist level, where the pager is usually attached, or in their arms, hands or faces.
In a video that AFP was able to verify from independent sources, people are seen in a vegetable shop when an explosion appears to be at a man’s waist level, causing the crowd to scatter and the man to fall to the ground.
A witness, speaking to the press on condition of anonymity, said he saw a Hezbollah communication device explode shortly after receiving a message.
Hundreds of wounded among the elements #Hezbollah After the explosion of the communication devices they were carrying.. and sources suggest that the incident was an “Israeli breach”#News_Now #Lebanon #Beirut #Israel pic.twitter.com/vOZWIKI1ti
– Akhbar Al Aan News Now (@akhbar) September 17, 2024
ambulance flow
In tents set up under a bridge in Beirut’s southern suburbs, dozens gathered to donate blood at a hastily set up centre, as ambulance sirens could be heard intermittently.
Most of the visitors come to donate blood, with the donated units arranged on a table before being placed in refrigerated boxes.
On Hamra commercial street, dozens of people were seen gathered outside the entrance to one of the city’s largest hospitals as ambulances streamed into the facility.
On a street near the emergency department, men and women, some in black chadors, gathered to inquire about the wounded.
Some cried or screamed in anger or indignation, others put their hands on their heads.
A woman was told by phone that a relative of hers had his hand amputated and suffered injuries to his waist.
Ambulances continued to flow, some of them belonging to the Lebanese Civil Defense or the Red Cross, and others to the Islamic Message Scouts Association affiliated with the Amal Movement, an ally of Hezbollah.
Soldiers and people in civilian clothes tried to facilitate the arrival of cars, while ambulance crews gave directions.
