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Morocco Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat
A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat
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Morocco Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat
A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat

Morocco on Monday announced a ban on New Year's Eve celebrations as part of stepped-up measures against rising coronavirus cases.

The government ordered a ban on all forms of celebration on the evening of New Year's eve, including parties in hotels and tourist sites.

It ordered restaurants and cafes to close at 11.30 pm and said a curfew would be in place from midnight until 6:00 AM on January 1.

Morocco on December 15 detected its first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

After a partial reopening of borders, it is to close them again from Thursday to rein in the spread of the highly infectious variant.

Authorities will, however, organize special repatriation flights for expatriates stranded in the country.

Morocco recorded during the past 24 hours 102 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the tally in Morocco to 952,916 infections since the first case was detected on March 2, 2020.

The total number of recoveries reached 936,597, and the total deaths 14,810.

Regarding inoculation, 24,501,405 people have been vaccinated since the launch of the campaign, including 22,843,009 who received the 2nd dose, and 2,390,120 the 3rd dose, said the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

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Hezbollah Claims it Foiled Plot to Smuggle Explosive-Laden Pagers in Türkiye

Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)
Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Claims it Foiled Plot to Smuggle Explosive-Laden Pagers in Türkiye

Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)
Pagers on display at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, September 18, 2024 (Reuters)

Hezbollah has revealed alerting Turkish authorities to a shipment of booby-trapped pagers at Istanbul Airport last September, saying its tip-off prevented a major attack. Turkish media previously reported that national intelligence forces had intercepted a shipment of electronic devices rigged with explosives en route from Istanbul to Lebanon.

According to Turkish sources, the operation took place on September 20, just three days after a deadly incident in Lebanon in which hundreds of communication pagers used by Hezbollah reportedly exploded, killing around 40 people and injuring hundreds. Many of the injuries involved damage to eyes and limbs. Reports at the time indicated that approximately 3,000 devices had detonated. Israel later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in April that Israeli intelligence had orchestrated the sabotage. Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu revealed that Mossad had tracked pagers Hezbollah sent for scanning in Iran and targeted the scanning equipment beforehand. “We destroyed the scanner and the operator,” he said.

Second Shipment Thwarted

The intercepted shipment in Türkiye was discovered on September 20, after Turkish intelligence received a tip-off about a suspicious cargo scheduled for transfer to Beirut. The shipment had arrived from Hong Kong on September 16 via the Taiwanese company SMT Global Logistics and was falsely declared as containing food processors. It was scheduled to be flown to Lebanon on September 27.

Upon inspection, Turkish authorities found 61 boxes weighing over 850 kilograms. The contents included 1,300 “Gold Apollo 924 R3 GP” pagers, 710 desk chargers, and various electronics such as mixers and audio devices. Detailed analysis revealed that explosive materials had been injected into the pagers’ batteries, allowing for remote detonation via electronic signal or short circuit.

The pagers were traced back to Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, reportedly linked to a Hungarian company, Bac Consulting KFT, which Turkish media suggest may be a front for intelligence operations.

Hezbollah Confirms it was Behing the Tip-off

Although Turkish authorities did not publicly name the source of the intelligence, Hezbollah confirmed its role. Speaking to Lebanon’s LBCI channel, Hezbollah media official Youssef Zein said the party had warned Turkish officials of a “booby-trapped pager shipment” at Istanbul Airport that was bound for Lebanon.

Pagers are small wireless communication devices used for receiving text messages and alerts and are commonly deployed in field operations. A Lebanese security source stated that Hezbollah had previously ordered 5,000 such devices from Gold Apollo in early 2024.

Israeli media reports claimed the attack on the devices was the result of years of work by Mossad to infiltrate Hezbollah’s communication infrastructure, both to spy on its operations and to physically disrupt its networks.

Israel last week honored three Mossad operatives allegedly involved in the operation. Their identities were kept secret, and they appeared masked at a torch-lighting ceremony during Independence Day celebrations.