Pager blasts kill at least 9, injure 2,800 in Lebanon; Hezbollah blames Israel

Published on Authored by C to I News Desk

A series of pager blasts accounted for the lives of at least nine people, while 2,800 others, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were injured on Tuesday in Lebanon. As per reports citing security sources and the Lebanese Health Minister, the pagers used for communication exploded, resulting in the casualties.

Explosions took place across Lebanon. This is a scene from a market where the pager exploded. Photo courtesy: Screengrab from X
Explosions took place across Lebanon. This is a scene from a market where the pager exploded. Photo courtesy: Screengrab from X

Both Lebanon and the Hezbollah held Israel responsible for the attack. Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary said the detonation of the pagers was an “Israeli aggression”. Hezbollah warned Israel of “fair punishment”.

Hezbollah also called the explosion the “biggest security breach” the group has faced since the conflict with Israel started in October 2023.

The outfit informed that the attack killed two of its members. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the blasts.

As per reports, the first blast took place around 3:45 pm local time. The series of explosions lasted around an hour.

Reacting to the events, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry described the explosions as a “dangerous and deliberate Israeli escalation”. The ministry said the blasts follow “Israeli threats to expand the war towards Lebanon on a large scale”.

Of the 2,800 injured, 200 were left with critical wounds.

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Pager explosions ‘an extremely concerning escalation’, says UN

The United Nations has termed the pager blasts as “an extremely concerning escalation”.

“The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” UN special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a statement.

She urged “all concerned actors to refrain from any further action, or bellicose rhetoric, which could trigger a wider conflagration that nobody can afford”.

US rules out involvement

Meanwhile, the US said it “was not aware of this incident in advance”.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller ruled out America’s involvement during a press briefing, adding the country did not know who was responsible for the blasts.