Hundreds of Hezbollah members were seriously wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded. (Image: X)
Several videos and photos circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.
Hundreds of handheld pagers mysteriously exploded across Lebanon and parts of Syria on Tuesday killing at least nine people and injuring over 2,750 people, including members of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Also Read: Lebanon Explosions: What Is A Pager And Why Are Hezbollah Members Still Using It?
Those among killed include a 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member and the son of a Hezbollah MP. Iranian media outlet IRNA news reported that Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, was also injured in the pager blast in Beirut. He is said to be “conscious and in no danger.”
It’s reported that possibly over a thousand Hezbollah terrorists were killed or injured when a cyberattack on their secure cellphones and pagers caused them to explode.It’s almost… biblical.
Kaboom pic.twitter.com/QmK4tJyUsr
— Cheryl E ️ (@CherylWroteIt) September 17, 2024
Several videos and photos circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets. CCTV footage shared by the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik shows a man inside a store with a sudden explosion from a side bag he was carrying. He collapses to the floor immediately after the blast, while others in the store panic and flee.
The state-run National News Agency said hospitals in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs — all areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence — had called on people to donate blood of all types.
In a statement, the health ministry urged “all hospitals in areas near the locations of the injured to be on high alert and increase their level of preparedness,” and called for “all health workers to urgently report to their workplaces” to provide assistance.
BREAKING via ReutersHundreds of members of Hezbollah were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded.
Here is one video of one of the pager explosions. pic.twitter.com/UDepHvkkEe
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) September 17, 2024
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the pager detonations as the “biggest security breach” the group has faced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel, as per news agency Reuters.
Lebanese media speculated that pagers were allegedly hacked by Israeli intelligence services, causing the batteries to overheat and then explode.
However, there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has been engaged in conflict with Hezbollah since the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered the Gaza war, marking the worst escalation in years.
(With inputs from agencies)