Video: 8, including child, killed, over 2,800 injured as pagers explode in Lebanon, Hezbollah blames Israel

As many as eight people, including a child and a Hezbollah fighter, have been killed and more than 2,800 others have been injured after several pagers, used for communication by the Lebanese armed group, exploded on Tuesday (September 17) in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

All the pagers used by Hezbollah members, including fighters and medics, exploded nearly the same time in Lebanon’s south and the southern suburbs of capital Beirut, the Hezbollah has claimed.

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad confirmed that at least eight people, including a child, have died as a result of the attack. Over 2,800 were injured among whom 200 are in critical condition, he further said.

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Meanwhile, a report by Jerusalem Post mentioned that the Hezbollah fighter killed in the pager detonation was the son of Hezbollah MP.

As per a report in Iranian media outlet Mehr News, Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, and another employee of the Iranian embassy are among those injured in the pager blast in Beirut.

Local media reported that the detonation of the devices happened due to a “high-tech impact.”

As per reports, personal communication devices, used by Hezbollah members, began exploding around 3:30 pm local time (6:00 pm IST) due to simultaneous remote attacks.

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Reports also suggest that the attack mainly targeted devices carried by Hezbollah members. The highest number of explosions was recorded in Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon .

❗️The Iranian ambassador in Beirut, Lebanon, was injured in the explosion of a communication device, Iranian media reported.

Lebanese hospitals report more than 1,200 injured. https://t.co/fyG78AgOre pic.twitter.com/P8VFlgy9wC

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 17, 2024

Lebanese media speculates that the pagers were allegedly hacked by Israeli intelligence services, causing the batteries to overheat and then explode.

As per a report by The Wall Street Journal, the devices came from a shipment that Hezbollah had received in recently.

After the incident, pager owners were urged to dispose of their devices immediately.

‘Biggest security breach’

Hezbollah that backs Hamas which has been at war with Israel in Gaza since October 2023 further said that the explosions in Beirut was an “Israeli breach” of its communications network.

A report by Reuters quoted a Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying that the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.

The group, backed by Iran, further said that it had not yet determined the reasons behind the mass explosion.

A large number of the Iran-backed movement’s members had been injured in the near-simultaneous incidents, news agency AFP quoted a source close to Hezbollah as saying.

The explosions on Tuesday in Lebanon was the first of its kind since Hezbollah began firing at Israel in support of Hamas after the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.

Hezbollah has been banned by the United States and the European Union. It is the political and military establishment in Lebanon.

With inputs from agencies.