An estimated 1,000 people - including Hezbollah members - have been wounded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon after their handheld pagers exploded on Tuesday, Lebanese state media and security officials said.
A senior military intelligence official and an official with a Lebanese group with knowledge of the situation, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation said that pagers carried by Hezbollah members were detonated.
The second official said it was believed to be an Israeli attack.
The state-run National News Agency reported that in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas “the handheld pagers system was detonated using advanced technology, and dozens of injuries were reported”.
It was not immediately clear if people were killed.
A Hezbollah official said that at least 150 people, including members of the group, were wounded in different parts of Lebanon when the pagers they were carrying exploded.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the explosions were the result of “a security operation that targeted the devices”.
“The enemy (Israel) stands behind this security incident,” the official said, without elaborating.
He added the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries that apparently exploded. Lithium batteries, when overheated, can smoke, melt and even catch on fire.
The Associated Press reached out to the Israeli military and they declined to comment.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, close to the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, said on its Telegram channel that Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador in Lebanon, has a superficial injury and is under observation at a hospital.
Meanwhile, another semi-official Mehr news agency, also on its Telegram channel reported that Mr Amani was wounded by a pager explosion.
The wave of explosions lasted around an hour after the initial detonations, which took place about 3:45 pm local time. It was not immediately clear how the devices were detonated.
Lebanese internal security forces said a number of wireless communication devices were detonated across Lebanon, especially in Beirut's southern suburbs, leading to injuries.
Groups of people huddled at the entrance of buildings to check on people they knew who may have been wounded, the Reuters journalist said.
Regional broadcasters carrying CCTV footage which showed what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to a grocery store cashier where an individual was paying spontaneously exploding.
In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand at a market area.
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza.
The clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.
Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their trouser pockets.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry mobile phones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes. - PA/Reuters
