Hezbollah pagers explode across Lebanon, killing 9 and injuring nearly 3,000

Handheld pagers used by Hezbollah members across Lebanon and Syria exploded Tuesday, killing at least nine people and injuring nearly 3,000 others, according to local officials. It’s believed the devices were sabotaged by Israel.

The attack happened at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday when communication pagers used by the militant group received a message that appeared to come from Hezbollah’s leadership. After beeping for several seconds, the devices exploded.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 9 people were killed in the unprecedented series of explosions. More than 2,800 people were reported injured, including Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. Injuries were also reported in Syria.

Pagers – which were widely used from the 1980s through the early 2000s before the widespread availability of cellphones – are capable of sending and receiving messages. Hezbollah was using them because cellphones are easier to track for targeted strikes.

According to the New York Times, Israel carried out the operation by hiding 1 to 2 ounces of explosive material next to the battery of each device within a batch of pagers recently ordered from Gold Apollo in Taiwan. The pagers were tampered with before reaching Lebanon, according to American and other officials.

Israel has not publicly commented on Tuesday’s attack, but Hezbollah promised to retaliate, saying Israel would receive its “fair punishment.” One Hezbollah official called it the group’s biggest security breach in the nearly one-year-long conflict with Israel.

The UN’s Special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, deplored the attack.

“The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” her office said. “[She] urges all concerned actors to refrain from any further action, or bellicose rhetoric, which could trigger a wider conflagration that nobody can afford.”