Thousands of people were injured Tuesday and at least eight were killed by exploding pagers, Lebanese officials said, with state media reporting that dozens of members of the militant group Hezbollah were wounded.
A child was among those killed in the blasts, which injured around 2,800 people, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said. The nature of the injuries is unclear. Hezbollah added on its Telegram channel that “workers” in various Hezbollah institutions were affected by the attack, and a “large number” of people were injured.
Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those injured in Beirut, according to Iranian state media. He has a superficial injury and is currently under observation in the hospital, state media IRNA reported, citing his wife.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health has urged citizens who possess pagers to discard them and warned hospitals to be on “high alert.”
The explosions affected several areas in Lebanon, particularly the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces.
State media NNA reported that “hacked” pager devices exploded in the towns of Ali Al-Nahri and Riyaq in Lebanon’s central Beqaa valley, resulting in a significant number of injuries. The locations are Hezbollah strongholds.
In addition to Amani, two employees of the Iranian embassy were also injured, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
The Israeli military, which has engaged in tit-for-tat strikes with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza last October, said it would not be commenting on the incident.
Hezbollah said its security apparatus had launched an investigation into the incident, and stopped short of blaming any party for it.
“We confirm that the resistance at all levels and various units is at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its steadfast people,” it said.
Health workers across Lebanon were asked to report urgently to work given the “large number of injured people being transferred to hospitals” following the pager explosions, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. Officials also called for people to donate blood in anticipation of increased need.
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among those injured, according to semi-official Iranian media outlet Mehr News.
Videos circulating on social media and news agencies appear to show powerful explosions in various locations. In one CCTV video, a man can be seen picking out fruit in a supermarket when an explosion tears his bag to shreds. Bystanders can be seen running away as they hear the explosion, while the man drops to the ground clutching his lower abdomen. After several seconds, he can be heard groaning in pain.
Social media videos meanwhile showed large numbers of injured people, including at least one child. Those wounded were covered in blood, some with facial and hand injuries as well as flesh wounds.
Reported by CNN
