Over 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were injured in Lebanon when their pagers exploded. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also among the injured ones, according to Iran's Mehr news agency.
As per a Reuters report, a Hezbollah official described the pager explosions as the "biggest security breach" the group has faced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
As per an AFP report, Hezbollah leadership called the pager explosions an "Israeli breach" of their communications.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the incident. Since the Gaza war began last October, Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been in intense cross-border conflict, the worst escalation in years.
Hassan Wazni, head of the Nabatieh public hospital in southern Lebanon, told Reuters that about 40 injured people were being treated there for facial, eye, and limb injuries. The explosions continued for about an hour after they first started around 3:45 p.m. local time (1345 GMT). It is still unclear how the devices were triggered
Lebanese internal security forces reported that several wireless communication devices exploded across Lebanon, particularly in Beirut's southern suburbs, causing injuries. People gathered at building entrances to check on those they knew who might have been hurt, according to a Reuters journalist.
Regional broadcasters showed CCTV footage of small handheld devices exploding spontaneously at a grocery store cashier and knocking out someone at a fruit stand. Lebanon’s crisis operations center, managed by the health ministry, has asked all medical workers to go to their hospitals to help with the large number of injured. It also advised healthcare workers not to use pagers.
The Lebanese Red Cross reported sending over 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical staff to help evacuate victims.
Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah has fired missiles at Israel, and both sides have been exchanging fire while avoiding a major escalation, with the ongoing conflict in Gaza to the south.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their towns and villages on both sides of the border due to the ongoing conflict.