At least three individuals lost their lives, and over 1,000 others, including Hezbollah fighters, medics, and Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, were injured on Tuesday following a series of explosions caused by the detonation of pagers used for communication across Lebanon.
Security sources shared this information with Reuters. A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously, labeled the detonations as the “biggest security breach” the group had experienced in nearly a year of fighting with Israel.
Both Israel and Hezbollah, backed by Iran, have been locked in cross-border hostilities in conjunction with the Gaza war that erupted last October, marking one of the most intense escalations in recent years.
The Israeli military did not respond to Reuters’ queries about the incident. Hezbollah, in a formal statement, confirmed the deaths of three people, which included two of its fighters and a young girl.
The group added that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the explosions.
Among the deceased was the son of a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, according to two security sources.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, sustained minor injuries when a pager exploded.
“Amani has a superficial injury and is currently under observation in a hospital,” Fars quoted a source as saying. Reuters could not immediately confirm the accuracy of this report.
The pagers involved in the explosion were a recently introduced model acquired by Hezbollah over the past few months, as indicated by three security sources. A Reuters journalist on the scene witnessed ambulances speeding through the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold for Hezbollah, where panic spread rapidly.
Explosions were also reported in southern Lebanon, according to a security source.
At Mt. Lebanon Hospital, motorcycles rushed to the emergency ward, where injured individuals with bloodied hands screamed in pain. In the south, Dr. Hassan Wazni, head of Nabatieh public hospital, told Reuters that around 40 patients were being treated for injuries, which included wounds to the face, eyes, and limbs.
The wave of explosions persisted for about an hour after the initial blast, which occurred around 3:45 p.m. local time (1345 GMT). It remains unclear how the devices were triggered.
Lebanese internal security forces reported that a number of wireless communication devices were detonated throughout Lebanon, with the majority of incidents concentrated in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
In the aftermath, groups gathered outside buildings, anxiously checking on the welfare of friends and family who may have been caught in the blasts, according to the Reuters reporter.
Meanwhile, regional broadcasters aired CCTV footage showing small handheld devices spontaneously detonating. One clip showed a pager exploding next to a cashier at a grocery store where a customer was paying.
Another video captured an individual at a fruit stand being knocked out by an explosion in a market.
Lebanon’s crisis operations center, managed by the health ministry, urged all medical professionals to report to their hospitals to manage the overwhelming influx of casualties.
In a precautionary message, the ministry advised healthcare workers to refrain from using pagers. Additionally, the Lebanese Red Cross deployed more than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical personnel to aid in evacuating the wounded.
Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel have continued since October 7, when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel in response to Hamas’ assault, which triggered the Gaza conflict. Despite the ongoing exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, both parties have thus far managed to avoid a large-scale escalation.
The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people from towns and villages on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border.
