Hezbollah-used pagers exploded in southern Beirut and numerous other parts of the country, leaving at least eight dead and nearly 3,000 injured in Lebanon.
The Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah stated that an investigation into the reason is underway. The health ministry of Lebanon has reported the deaths and injuries.
According to reports, members of the group—which is outlawed in the US, the UK, and many other nations as a terrorist organization—have suffered grave injuries.
Social media posts and videos seemed to show injured individuals being taken to hospitals while others were seen sitting or lying on floors. CCTV footage purportedly captured explosions in stores.
Hezbollah has been using pagers to communicate since the Gaza conflict began last year, despite warning its members not to use mobile phones for fear of being tampered with by Israeli intelligence agents.
A new batch of pagers was recently delivered, and it is believed that Israel was behind the sabotage. A former British Army munitions expert said the devices were likely packed with military-grade high explosive, hidden inside a fake electronic component. Armed by an alphanumeric text message, the next person to use the device would have triggered the explosive. Less than 1% of the exploding pagers have been fatal, but hundreds have been seriously injured, causing a major psychological blow to Hezbollah.
(News Agencies)
