Over 2,000 people were injured and eight killed in Lebanon on Tuesday after pagers used by the paramilitary group Hezbollah exploded without explanation, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Numerous videos posted to social media, primarily those captured by security cameras, show the moment that the communication devices began exploding in the hands and pockets of the group’s members.
The incident came amid the group’s ongoing war with Israel, which ramped up following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks and subsequent invasion of Gaza. It was described by one Hezbollah official to Reuters as the “biggest security breach” in the last year.
The Israeli military has declined to comment on the incident.
Three security sources told the outlet that the pagers had been acquired by Hezbollah in recent months, although the Wall Street Journal reports that they had been obtained in recent days.
Among those injured include the group’s fighters and medics as well as Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency. Hezbollah members using the pagers in Syria, as reported by the AP, were also injured.
Everything from severed fingers to large lacerations to the torso to head injuries have been reported, with an estimated 2,700 people harmed in the incident.
A Hezbollah official speaking anonymously with the AP added that the group believed Israel was responsible for the explosions.
“The enemy (Israel) stands behind this security incident,” the official said, before noting that the pagers’ lithium batteries had seemingly exploded.
Speculation has since swirled online that Israel was able to hack the devices and force their batteries to overheat, although no evidence for the claim has been presented. Others speculated the supply chain for the pagers may have been sabatoged.
Such attacks would not be entirely new. Israel has previously been accused of using booby-trapped cell phones to kill targets.
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