Hezbollah Pagers Explode in Apparent Attack Across Lebanon
Pagers carried by thousands of Hezbollah operatives exploded at about the same time Tuesday afternoon in what appeared to be an unprecedented attack that authorities said injured more than 2,750 and killed nine across Lebanon.
Many of the affected pagers were from a new shipment that the group received in recent days, people familiar with the matter said.
The pagers exploded in southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahiyeh and the eastern Bekaa Valley - all Hezbollah strongholds.
In one instance, closed-circuit surveillance video carried by regional broadcasters showed a person paying at a grocery store as what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to the cashier exploded.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the "biggest security breach" for the group in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the late afternoon detonation of the pagers - handheld devices that Hezbollah and others in Lebanon use to send messages - as an "Israeli aggression". Hezbollah said Israel would receive "its fair punishment" for the blasts.
At least nine people were killed in the blasts, with hundreds more pouring into hospitals across the country. Lebanon's health ministry says at least 2,750 people have been injured, 200 of them seriously.
It is unclear how the attack - which looks to have been highly sophisticated - occurred, though Hezbollah has blamed its adversary Israel. Israeli officials have so far declined to comment.
When and where did it happen?
The blasts began in southern Beirut and several other areas of Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon at around 15:45 local time (13:45 BST).
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from people's pockets, before seeing small explosions that sounded like fireworks and gunshots.
In one clip, CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion in a man’s trouser pocket as he stood at a shop till.
Explosions continued for around an hour after the initial blasts, the Reuters news agency reported.
Soon after, scores of people began arriving at hospitals across Lebanon, with witnesses reporting scenes of mass confusion.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that two of those killed were the sons of two Hezbollah MPs. They also said the 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was not hurt in the explosions, Reuters reported quoting a source.
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