Hezbollah pagers mysteriously exploded across Lebanon, injuring thousands of people

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard as an ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on September 17, 2024.

Hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon were hurt on Tuesday when their pagers suddenly exploded, according to multiple reports.

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces said people were injured after wireless communications devices exploded in several regions across the country. It requested that drivers clear the roads so emergency vehicles could provide first aid and transport the wounded to hospitals.

A security source told Reuters that Hezbollah fighters and medics were injured by the blasts. An official of the Iran-backed militant group described the situation as its “biggest security breach” of the past year. Lebanon’s health minister said the blasts killed eight people and injured more than 2,800.

Among the injured, per Iranian media, was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, who suffered injuries to his hands and face when a device exploded.

Some reports suggested that Israel hacked the personal pagers, which Hezbollah uses to communicate, and caused them to explode. The country has not claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Ambulances are surrounded by people at the entrance of the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024.

The devices exploded shortly after Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said it foiled Hezbollah’s attempt to kill a former high-ranking Israeli official with a remotely detonated explosive device. It is unclear whether the events are related.

The detonation of the pagers also came just hours after Israel indicated that it may increase military pressure on Hezbollah so people who have been displaced by fighting between the two sides could return home.

“The Security Cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include the following: Returning the residents of the north securely to their homes,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement early Tuesday morning local time.

“Israel will continue to act to implement this objective,” it added.

Tens of thousands of people in northern Israel and southern Lebanon have been displaced by fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

The two bitter enemies have traded constant strikes since Hamas staged its October 7 massacre, which triggered a wider regional conflict. However, despite fears that the situation would escalate into a full-scale war, Israel and Hezbollah have avoided an all-out confrontation.