At least nine people have died and about 2,750 others were injured in the explosions of handheld pagers across Lebanon, according to the country’s health minister. Firass Abiad said that an eight-year-old girl was among the victims, and more than 200 people are reportedly in critical condition after the devices exploded on Tuesday, with injuries mainly affecting the face, hands, and stomach.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah accused Israel of the wave of pager explosions, saying it would get “its fair punishment,”, which has been exchanging almost daily cross-border fire with Israel for nearly a year.
The Israeli military provided no comment on the blasts. Earlier Tuesday, Hezbollah said two of its fighters and a girl were killed as “pagers belonging to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions exploded.” A Hezbollah official, who spoke anonymously, called it the “biggest security breach” the group has faced since October 7, when Israel’s war on Gaza began following Hamas-led attacks. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured in Tuesday’s explosions, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated during a regular news briefing that the US was not involved in the incidents and had no prior knowledge. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said the devices were apparently hacked and detonated in a coordinated attack, representing a “major development” in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. She described widespread panic and hospitals requesting blood donations, as near-simultaneous explosions were reported across southern Lebanon, the east, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously instructed his fighters to stop using smartphones due to Israel’s technological capabilities to infiltrate them. Instead, they adopted pagers, but it appears these too were compromised. Independent military analyst Elijah Magnier suggested that third-party involvement allowed remote activation of the pager explosions, which have psychologically impacted Hezbollah.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel expanded its war aims to include enabling displaced residents from near the Lebanese border to return home, shifting focus from Hamas to Hezbollah. Ongoing exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides. Israel’s political-security cabinet said its updated goals included ensuring the safe return of residents to northern Israel. These clashes have resulted in hundreds of deaths, mostly Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, as well as Lebanon ivilians. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated that military action was the “only way left” to secure the return of Israel’s northern communities.
