Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said eight people were killed and some 2,750 wounded in pager explosions across the country yesterday, with Hezbollah earlier saying the pagers were used by its members.
The blasts “killed eight people, including a girl”, he told a televised press conference. “About 2,750 people were injured… more than 200 of them critically” with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach, he added.
The incident was the first of its kind since Hezbollah began trading near-daily fire with Israel in support of ally Hamas after the Israeli offensive began in Gaza on October 7.
Another source close to Hezbollah told AFP that the incident was a result of an “Israeli breach” of its communications.
An AFP photographer in Beirut’s southern suburbs saw ambulances rushing injured Hezbollah members to hospitals in the area.
An AFP correspondent in eastern Lebanon said dozens of people had been wounded in similar incidents in the group’s Bekaa Valley stronghold.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported “an unprecedented enemy security incident” with “handheld pagers detonating” in several regions.
